Big Ben clock tower incident expected to continue overnight as man stays put
The man, who is barefoot and holding a Palestine flag, has been spoken to by negotiators several times but at 10.30pm had not yet agreed to come down from Elizabeth Tower.
The scene remained busy with emergency crews, with dozens of uniformed police officers guarding the cordon which extended from Bridge Street to Westminster Bridge.
Two aerial ladder platforms, an incident response unit ambulance, regular ambulances and two fire engines were still at the scene late on Saturday.
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 are not warm enough as temperatures drop after sunset.
But the man insists he is safe and says: '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.
A parliamentary spokesperson said: 'We are aware of an incident on the parliamentary estate, 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.'
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 protestor was able to evade security so easily. pic.twitter.com/DUlDyMG032
— Ben Obese-Jecty MP (@BenObeseJecty) March 8, 2025
London bus routes 3, 11, 148, C10 and 159 remain on diversion as the road closures continued.
In 2019, an Extinction Rebellion activist wearing a blond wig was arrested after climbing the scaffolding surrounding 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 – and was up Elizabeth Tower for around three and a half hours on October 18 2019, before police managed to get him to come down.
On Friday night, Donald Trump's Turnberry golf resort in Scotland was vandalised by activists in response to the US president's statements on Gaza.
The golf course in South Ayrshire, owned by the US president, was targeted, with activists painting Gaza Is Not For Sale in three-metre high letters on the lawn, and damaging the greens.
Palestine Action described it as a 'direct response to the US administration's stated intent to ethnically cleanse Gaza'.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Deported from US, these social media influencers are now monetizing their misfortune
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He started vlogging. The 30-something Harvard graduate and former Dreamer had been taken to the United States illegally as a boy, he explained on TikTok. Multiple attempts to legalize his status in the United States failed. In June, he posted his migration – and self-deportation – stories online. Between photos of golden sunsets and mouthwatering tacos, he posted in July: "Self-deporting isn't always freedom and joy and new adventures. Sometimes it's pain and nostalgia and anger and sadness. Sometimes you just miss the home that was." 'Life in the pueblo is not easy' Mexico remains a country of extremes, where stunning vistas and limitless wealth can be found in big cities and beach resorts, while hardship and poverty often overwhelm smaller communities. Olga Mijangos was deported from Las Vegas in on Christmas Eve 2024, two years after being charged with a DUI. She returned to the Oaxaca state pueblo she had left when she was 5. Mijangos, 33, has tattoos on her neck, stylized brows and long lashes – all part of her Vegas style. Back in her hometown, she began posting videos of goats being herded through the streets; the community rodeo; the traditional foods she began cooking. She posted videos from her first job: harvesting and cleaning cucumbers, earning 300 pesos a day, or $15. "I clearly understand why my mother decided to take us when we were little. Life in the pueblo is not easy," she said in a video of the cucumber harvest. "There is hard-living. There is poverty." Struggling to make ends meet for her family, including two children with her in Mexico and one in the United States, she moved to Puerto Vallarta where she met Garcia and Hernández-Corona. They began forming an in-real-life community of deportees-turned-influencers and others who left the U.S. They meet up for dinner at least once a month, and they create content. In their videos, they're having fun, drinks, laughs. 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Deportees with savings in U.S. dollars and a college degree, those who speak Spanish and have supportive relatives in Mexico, may have an easier time than those who don't, he said. Others may face life-threatening risks upon their return, from the violence of organized crime to political persecution or death threats. "However much violence they've lived with in the United States, it's not the same as going back to a war zone," Ibarra González said, referring to certain Mexican states where drug cartels are actively battling for territorial control. Wherever they land – with the exception of some cosmopolitan cities – deported Mexicans have faced local prejudices, too. They've often been viewed as criminals, or their deportations as a failure. "Did I feel a lot of judgment? Absolutely," Mijangos said of her return to Oaxaca. "Even though it's my roots, I basically came from a different world. I have tattoos. I lived my life a certain way that they don't. I could feel people talking." 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New York Post
an hour ago
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Ex-AOC youth organizer Iman Abdul busted for urging 'attack' on Jewish students 'grew up in a mansion,' classmate says
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Disguised IDF special forces arrest Palestinian in Gaza's Deir el-Balah
Hamas sources reported Khattab's arrest, but did not mention if he was affiliated with the terrorist organization. A Palestinian named Ismail Abdel Karim Khattab was arrested by an IDF special forces unit disguised on a bus in the Deir el-Balah area in the central Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media citing local reports on Tuesday. The arrest happened on Monday, and Khattab was taken to Kibbutz Kissufum, according to the report. Strikes were reported by the Israel Air Force in Deir el-Balah shortly after the incident. Affiliation with Hamas? Hamas sources reported Khattab's arrest, but did not mention if he was affiliated with the terrorist organization. The Israeli special forces were reportedly traveling in a Volkswagen minibus, according to reports. The operation where the arrest took place was reportedly in an area in the Strip that the IDF doesn't control, according to KAN. This is a developing story.
