Man scales Big Ben tower at Houses of Parliament holding Palestinian flag
Police have been called to the Palace of Westminster after a man was spotted climbing the tower that houses Big Ben.
Footage shared on social media shows a barefoot man standing on a ledge several metres above ground level on the Elizabeth Tower, holding a Palestinian flag.
He's on Big Ben with a Palestinian flag, right now pic.twitter.com/4Ul0ytNT2f
— Liza Tóth JD #FBPE (@ipattorneyliza) March 8, 2025
At least nine emergency service vehicles lined Bridge Street in central London and crowds looked on from beyond a police cordon.
A Met Police spokesperson said: "At 7.24am on Saturday March 8 officers were alerted to a man climbing up the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament.
"Officers are at the scene working to bring the incident to a safe conclusion. They are being assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service."
Bridge Street, at the northern end of Westminster Bridge, has been closed by police to allow emergency services to respond safely to the incident.
A spokesman for London Fire Brigade (LFB) said: '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 have been deployed, LFB added.
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