Pro-Palestinian demonstrator charged after scaling Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower
Shocked onlookers watched on as emergency services negotiated with the man to come down
A pro-Palestinian protester who scaled Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower has been charged after he spent more than 16 hours perched on the London landmark.
Met Police charged Daniel Day, of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, with intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance and trespassing on a protected site after he scaled the landmark barefoot at around 7.20am on Saturday, and came down just after midnight on Sunday.
Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the Palace of Westminster after Mr Day climbed the building that houses Big Ben in front of shocked onlookers.
He was brought down about midnight, several hours after emergency personnel and negotiators raised on an aerial ladder platform pleaded with the man to come down at about 6pm, in the third such attempt that day.
A video filmed by the man during that exchange showed three emergency personnel expressing concern for the man’s safety.
In a statement issued just after 1am on Sunday, the police said: “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.”
In footage of the incident, negotiators on an aerial ladder platform appeared to raise concerns about an injury to his foot, saying there is “quite a lot of blood” and that his clothes are not warm enough as temperatures drop after sunset.
But the man, who was barefoot, insisted he was safe and said: “I will come down on my own terms, I have said this. But right now I am saying I am safe.
“If you come towards me you are putting me in danger and I will climb higher.”
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty said on X there needs to be an explanation about how the man got to the tower.
He said: “Every day in Parliament I see dozens of armed police officers patrolling Portcullis House and the parliamentary estate. Where were they today?
“On Monday there needs to be a full explanation to MPs and staff as to how this protester was able to evade security so easily.”
Earlier in the day, large crowds looked on from beyond a cordon, with parliamentary tours cancelled and Westminster Bridge closed, while police also blocked pedestrian access at Parliament Square after protesters began to gather near the edge of the cordon.
Pro-Palestine protesters on Whitehall shouted “free Palestine” and one appeared to be waving at Big Ben. The activist on the landmark returned a wave and shouted something inaudible back.
The man was seen in photographs sitting on the ledge with the flag and a keffiyeh wrapped around the decorative stonework on the tower.
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.
But the man was still on the ledge when the platform was lowered at around 11.45am, with a second attempt made on Saturday afternoon.
Westminster Bridge was closed on Saturday afternoon as the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service dealt with the incident.
Bridge Street, which is at the north end of Westminster Bridge and adjacent to the tower, was also closed to allow crews to use the aerial ladder platform to reach the man.
There was heavy traffic in the surrounding area as motorists avoided the closures, with London bus routes 3, 11, 148, C10 and 159 on diversion.
Tours of the parliamentary estate were cancelled on Saturday as emergency services responded to the incident, a parliamentary spokesperson confirmed, adding: “Parliament takes security extremely seriously.”
A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said crews from four different fire stations had been deployed at the scene.