THERE shall be a review into the security of the Big Ben tower clock after a man spent more than 16 hours holding a Palestine flag on the monument after climbing it at the weekend, MPs have been told.
The man scaled the Elizabeth Tower on Saturday morning and came down just after midnight on Sunday, with images from the scene showing him being lifted to the ground in a cherry picker.
He was then arrested by the Met Police and is set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
On Monday Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle ordered a review following the man climbing the Big Ben clock tower at the weekend.
He told MPs: “I’ve asked for a review to be undertaken of Saturday’s incident. I will ensure lessons are learnt from it.”
In videos posted on social media earlier on Saturday, the man appeared to climb over a fence surrounding the Houses of Parliament without any security guards approaching him.
Emergency crews had been at the scene with dozens of uniformed police officers guarding the cordon which extended from Bridge Street to Westminster Bridge.
Two aerial ladder platforms, an incident response unit ambulance, ambulances and two fire engines were also present on Saturday.
In a statement issued just after 1am on Sunday, the Met 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.
“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.
“We have been in close liaison with the Parliamentary Estate throughout and all roads have been reopened.”
