A MAN has scaled one of the buildings at Westminster carrying a Palestine flag.
Emergency services were called to the Palace of Westminster on Saturday morning, where a barefoot man has been standing on a ledge for more than seven hours 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 and crowds looked on from beyond a police cordon.
Pictures appear to show the man with blood coming from his foot.
No further details about any injuries have been revealed, as negotiators were seen speaking to the man.
A Parliamentary spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident on the Parliamentary Estate this morning, which is being handled by the Metropolitan Police, assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service.
“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.”
A Met Police spokesperson said: “At 7.24am on Saturday March 8 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.
Photographs show the man sat on the ledge with the flag and a keffiyeh wrapped around the decorative stonework on the tower.
The man was still on the ledge when the platform was lowered at around 11.45am.
The whole of Westminster Bridge was closed later in the morning as crews continued to deal with the incident.
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 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 deployed, LFB added.
