Man arrested after climbing Big Ben clock tower and staying there for 16 hours
A man has been arrested after spending more than 16 hours perched on the Elizabeth Tower.
Holding a Palestinian flag and live-streaming his demonstration from above, the man stood on the tower of Big Ben barefoot, with blood by his feet yesterday (March 8).
Police were called at 7.24am to reports of a man scaling the landmark and Bridge Street in Westminster was shut for the rest of the day as negotiations took place to bring him down safely.
In a statement issued just after 1am, the Metropolitan Police said: 'The man has now been arrested.
'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.
'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.
'We have been in close liaison with the Parliamentary Estate throughout and all roads have been reopened.'
Emergency crews had been at the scene with dozens of uniformed police officers guarding the cordon which extended from Bridge Street to Westminster Bridge.
In a video posted on Instagram on Saturday evening, the man told negotiators from the ledge he was sat on that he would come down 'on his own terms'.
In the footage, negotiators on an aerial ladder platform appear to raise concerns about an injury to his foot, saying there is 'quite a lot of blood' and that his clothes were not warm enough as temperatures dropped after sunset.
But the man insisted he was safe, saying: 'I will come down on my own terms, I have said this. But right now I am saying I am safe.
'If you come towards me you are putting me in danger and I will climb higher.'
In the afternoon, shouts of 'Free Palestine' and 'You are a hero' could be heard from a small group of supporters behind the police cordon at Victoria Embankment.
In videos posted on social media earlier on Saturday, the man appeared to climb over a fence surrounding the Houses of Parliament without any security guards approaching him.
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty said on X there needs to be an explanation about how the man got into the parliamentary estate.
He said: 'Every day in Parliament I see dozens of armed police officers patrolling Portcullis House and the parliamentary estate. Where were they today?
'On Monday there needs to be a full explanation to MPs and staff as to how this protester was able to evade security so easily.'
Parliamentary tours, which happen on Saturdays when Parliament is sitting and on weekdays during the summer recess, were cancelled.
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