Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 8, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleA man climbed Big Ben with a Palestinian flag, leading to a 16-hour standoff before his arrest. The incident involved emergency services and caused temporary closures in Westminster.
LONDON (Reuters) -A man who scaled the lower sections of Big Ben's Elizabeth Tower at London's Palace of Westminster early on Saturday has come down after 16 hours and was subsequently arrested, the British police said on Sunday.
He was waving a Palestinian flag and shouted "free Palestine", according to British media.
"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," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.
Emergency crews had gone up in a crane to negotiate with the man, and he came down after earlier telling negotiators he would come down "on his own terms", according to a Sky News report.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police earlier said they were alerted to the incident at Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) at 0724 GMT.
Emergency services closed Westminster Bridge on Saturday morning in response to the incident, and parliamentary tours were also cancelled, Sky News had reported. All roads have been reopened following the man's arrest, the police added.
(Reporting by James Davey and Chandni Shah; Additional reporting by Rishabh JaiswalEditing by Marguerita Choy)
The man scaled the lower sections of Big Ben's Elizabeth Tower while waving a Palestinian flag and shouting 'free Palestine'.
The incident lasted for 16 hours before the man came down and was arrested.
Emergency crews used a crane to negotiate with the man and closed Westminster Bridge in response to the incident.
The Metropolitan Police worked with other agencies, including the London Fire Brigade, to resolve the situation while minimizing risk to life.
Yes, parliamentary tours were cancelled, and Westminster Bridge was closed during the incident.
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