Palestine protester safely brought down from Big Ben clock tower after 16 hours

A pro-Palestinian protester who climbed the clock tower of Big Ben barefoot and spent more than 16 hours perched on a ledge has been safely brought down by emergency services.

Pictures from the scene showed the man lifted to the ground in a cherry picker. Westminster police said the man had arrested after reaching the ground.

“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,” police said in a statement issued shortly after 1am on Sunday.

“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.”

The man had flown the Palestinian flag from a ledge on the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben in the Houses of Parliament, after breaching security measures by climbing over a fence.
Westminster Bridge had closed to traffic after a standoff between emergency services and the protester, who scaled the tower without shoes, while carrying the flag.

A large crowd gathered in Parliament Square on Saturday to show their support for the man, who posted on social media at 6pm that he was safe on the ledge and would come down on his own terms when he was ready.

Emergency services used an aerial ladder platform outside the tower to raise themselves towards the man in an attempt to coax him down. A small team of negotiators then began trying to talk the protester down, and he eventually brought down safely on the stroke of midnight.

Two cherrypickers, an incident response unit ambulance, regular ambulances and two fire engines were at the scene.

At one point, shouts of “free Palestine” and “you a hero” could heard from a small group of supporters behind a police cordon.

The protester posted an update on Instagram at about 6pm, filming himself threatening to climb higher if the negotiator on a platform attached to a fire engine came any closer. He said: “I will come down on my terms … Right now, I’m saying I’m safe. If you come towards me, you’re putting me in danger and I will climb higher.”

The negotiators were concerned that the protester would need food or water, or to use the toilet, and that he had been bleeding from an injured foot. “I feel fine,” the protester said. “I’m on a large ledge here. I’m safe.”

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