A man was taken into custody after spending over 16 hours barefoot and waving a Palestine flag while sitting atop the clock tower of Big Ben.
Images from the scene depicted the man being brought down in a cherry picker.
Emergency services were present with numerous uniformed police officers maintaining a cordon that stretched from Bridge Street to Westminster Bridge.
Two aerial ladder platforms, an ambulance from the incident response unit, regular ambulances, and two fire engines were also on-site late yesterday.
Emergency responders converse with the man, who was ultimately lifted to the ground in a cherry picker.
A statement from the police indicated, “The man has now been arrested.”
“This has been a lengthy incident due to the specific location of the man and the need to ensure the safety of our officers, the individual, and the general public.”
“We collaborated with other agencies, including the London Fire Brigade, and deployed specialized officers to resolve this situation as swiftly as possible while minimizing risks to life,” it continued.
“We have maintained close communication with the Parliamentary Estate throughout, and all roads have been reopened,” it concluded.
Read more: Man climbs Big Ben while holding a Palestinian flag
In a video shared on Instagram yesterday evening, the man informed negotiators from his perch that he would descend “on his own terms.”
In the footage, negotiators on an aerial ladder platform expressed concern about an injury to his foot, noting there was “quite a lot of blood” and that his clothing was insufficient to keep him warm as temperatures fell after sunset.
However, the man insisted he was safe, stating, “I will come down on my own terms, I have said this. But right now I am saying I am safe.
We need your consent to load this comcast-player content. We use comcast-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences. “If you come towards me, you are putting me in danger, and I will climb higher,” he warned.
In the afternoon, chants of “Free Palestine” and “You are a hero” echoed from a small group of supporters gathered behind the police cordon at Victoria Embankment.
In videos shared on social media earlier, the man appeared to scale a fence surrounding the Houses of Parliament without any security personnel intervening.
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty remarked on X that there should be an explanation regarding how the man gained access to the parliamentary estate.
He expressed, “Every day in Parliament, I observe dozens of armed police officers patrolling Portcullis House and the parliamentary estate. Where were they today?”
“On Monday, there must be a comprehensive explanation to MPs and staff about how this protester was able to bypass security so easily,” he added.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators protest in Whitehall in support of the man who climbed Big Ben.
Parliamentary tours, typically conducted on Saturdays when Parliament is in session and on weekdays during the summer recess, were canceled.
A parliamentary spokesperson stated, “We are aware of an incident on the parliamentary estate, which is being managed by the Metropolitan Police, supported by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service.”
“Parliament takes security very seriously; however, we do not comment on the specifics of our security measures or strategies,” they added.
London bus routes 3, 11, 148, C10, and 159 remained on diversion as road closures were enforced.
In 2019, an Extinction Rebellion activist wearing a blond wig was arrested after scaling the scaffolding around the clock tower.
Tree surgeon Ben Atkinson climbed the scaffolding surrounding Big Ben dressed as Boris Johnson—complete with a blond wig, shirt, jacket, and tie—remaining on the Elizabeth Tower for approximately three and a half hours before police managed to persuade him to come down on 18 October 2019.
