The barefoot protester has been removed and arrested after climbing up Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower on Saturday morning and remaining there for more than 16 hours with a Palestine flag
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Emergency services attend scene after man climbs Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower
A barefoot man who climbed up Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower and clung onto it for hours has been removed and arrested.
Police, firefighters and ambulance crews surrounded the Palace of Westminster after a man holding a Palestine flag began climbing the tower at 7.24am on Saturday morning. He was seen holding on to the tower and recording with his mobile phone. The bottom of his feet appeared to be covered in blood.
Bridge Street, at the north end of Westminster Bridge, was closed to allow emergency services to resolve the incident. Emergency services were seen using a cherry picker as three people in plain clothes spoke to him. But the protestor refused to budge and remained in position into the evening and night. He eventually came down after more than 16 hours.
Members from London Ambulance Service’s hazardous area response team (Hart) were on the scene and were seen wearing green helmets. Hart is a specialist team trained to provide life-saving medical care in complex and challenging environments.
Westminster Police said the man had been arrested once he reached the ground. “This has been a protracted incident due to the specifics of where the man was located and the need to ensure the safety of our officers, the individual and the wider public,” the force added.
“We worked with other agencies including the London Fire Brigade and deployed specialist officers to bring this incident to a close as quickly as possible whilst minimising risk to life.”
Tours of the parliamentary estate were cancelled as emergency services responded to the incident. A Parliamentary spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident on the Parliamentary Estate this morning, which is being handled by the Metropolitan Police, assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service.
“Parliament takes security extremely seriously, however we do not comment on the specifics of our security measures or mitigations. As a result of this incident, tours of the Parliamentary Estate today have unfortunately had to be cancelled”.
Police were being assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service.” A spokesman for London Fire Brigade (LFB) said yesterday: “Firefighters are responding alongside the Metropolitan Police Service to reports of a person scaling the Palace of Westminster.” Crews from Lambeth, Chelsea, Soho and Islington fire stations were deployed, LFB added.
