A protester was arrested early on Sunday after he climbed the Big Ben tower at the Palace of Westminster in central London while barefoot and holding a Palestinian flag.
The barefoot man began his ascent early on Saturday, scaling the tower’s stone facade as stunned onlookers gathered near the Houses of Parliament.
The man, who appeared to be staging a protest on a ledge several metres (yards) up Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben, stepped off the building after midnight and onto a cherry picker following a long conversation with negotiators. He got into a waiting ambulance.
Throughout the ordeal, the climber filmed his protest and shared videos online. “If you come towards me, you are putting me in danger and I will climb higher,” he warned in one post.
A visible bloodstain on the tower’s stonework suggested he had sustained injuries while climbing barefoot. At various points, he wrapped a Palestinian keffiyeh around the structure and chanted, “Free Palestine,” as a small group of supporters cheered from behind police barriers.
Traffic around the Palace of Westminster in London had come to a standstill for much of Saturday as emergency crews tried to reach the man. Negotiators were lifted up on a fire brigade ladder platform several times before eventually talking him down.
Westminster Bridge and a nearby street were closed for much of the day and several emergency services vehicles were at the scene as crowds looked on. Police also blocked off all pedestrian access to Parliament Square. A small group of supporters shouted “Free Palestine” from behind a police cordon nearby.
Officials said tours of the Houses of Parliament were cancelled because of the incident.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that 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,” it said in a statement.
The protest is the latest in a series of pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have taken place across the UK in recent months.
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