Officials said they were checking the security gates at the parliament

It is understood staff were unable to close one gate because it was too heavy for its hinges with at least two other metal gates also affected.

Reports of problems have come to light two months after a beam swung loose from the roof of the parliament's debating chamber.

A parliament spokeswoman said "issues" had arisen with the gates.

One worker was reported to have said the gates at the site's car park were coming unstuck at the hinges, while a gate at the Queensberry House courtyard could not be closed.

Several gates in the complex have been reported with issues which are being looked into Parliament spokeswoman

Margo MacDonald, one of the fiercest critics of the cost of the Holyrood building as it spiralled to �431m, voiced concerns about the latest revelations.

She said: "It's just another of the things that have gone wrong and we don't know whether or not it's a design flaw.

"These gates are huge and it may be they are too heavy for the hinges, or it might be that the hinges were not installed properly.

"I just hope they will be able to allocate responsibility for this and find out why it happened."

A Scottish Parliament spokeswoman said it was working to establish who was responsible for the problems.

She said: "Several gates in the complex have been reported with issues which are being looked into.

"Until the cause is established, it is not possible to say if the contractor will be responsible for fixing it.