Protester who climbed Big Ben's tower barefoot still on building after 7 hours

He has been sitting on Elizabeth Tower since 7.30 on Saturday morning.

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Emergency services attend scene after man climbs Big Ben's Elizabeth Tower

A barefoot man who scaled Big Ben's tower with a Palestine flag has been on the building for more than seven hours.

The unknown man was seen climbing the Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster just before 7.30am on Saturday, March 8, while holding a the flag. In a live video filmed from his perspective during his climb, he was heard saying: "I'm not going anywhere. Free, free Palestine."

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A section of the building has been stained with blood, seemingly due to an injury he sustained during his ascent. He was also heard saying: "I've got a cut on my foot unfortunately. I didn't want any damage to come to this building."

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In a series of clips shared to his Instagram page, he launches into a protest, saying: "Democracy is dead. We're being imprisoned for peaceful protest, civil disobedience. We're seeing climate activists receiving four to five years in prison. Now Palestine actionists are being imprisoned for doing what our government should be doing, and stopping arms to the terrorist state of Israel."

The road below has been closed in both directions, with a heavy emergency services presence in the area. Crews and negotiators made contact with the protestor just after 1.30pm by raising a cherry picker up to where he had been sitting since this morning, the Mirror reports.

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Another video shows a firefighter approaching him on a crane and attempting to speak to him through a loudspeaker. He claims he can't hear any of what the firefighter is saying, and later says, "What a beautiful day it is. Clear skies. Warm weather. Perfect day for it," before warning the crane not to come any closer.

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Earlier, an eyewitness shared a clip on X showing several emergency vehicles outside the Palace of Westminster. They wrote: "Good morning from Westminster Bridge where just before 8am a barefoot man with a Palestine flag climbed up part of the Elizabeth Tower. The road is closed."

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Another user wrote: "I go past Big Ben all the time, and security around the whole Palace is tight. I don't see how this even happened."

Police have cordoned off the area around Westminster Bridge where at least eight emergency vehicles are parked. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "At 07:24hrs 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."

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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 dispatched to the scene, LFB confirmed.

The fire brigade added: "Bridge Street, which is at the north end of Westminster Bridge, is closed to allow the emergency services to deal with the incident."

Westminster Bridge is blocked in both directions between Parliament Square and the Victoria Embankment.

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Tours of the Parliamentary Estate have also been cancelled as emergency services continue to respond to the incident. The parliamentary spokesperson said: "Parliament takes security extremely seriously, however, we do not comment on the specifics of our security measures or mitigations.

"As a result of this incident, tours of the Parliamentary Estate today have unfortunately had to be cancelled."

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