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A man holding a Palestinian flag has climbed the building that houses Big Ben in front of shocked onlookers as emergency services rushed to the scene.
Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the Palace of Westminster where the man scaled one of the buildings on Saturday morning.
Video posted on social media shows a barefoot man standing on a ledge holding a Palestine flag several metres up Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben.
At least nine emergency service vehicles lined Bridge Street in central London as crowds looked on from beyond a police cordon.
The man has been up there in protest for more than three hours, according to an LBC reporter. He is reportedly demonstrating in solidarity with Palestine as well as calling for the reform of anti-protest laws in the UK.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “At 7.24am on Saturday 8 March 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.”
At around 10am on Saturday, three emergency personnel were lifted several metres up on a fire brigade aerial ladder platform, with one person using a megaphone to speak to the man on the ledge.
Bridge Street, which is at the north end of Westminster Bridge, is closed to allow the emergency services to deal with the incident, police confirmed.
It is understood one exit of Westminster Tube station is closed, but there is no disruption to Tube services and passengers can use other exits.
A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade 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, they added.
Source: independent.co.uk
