UK police closed the area around Big Ben in London on Saturday, March 8, after a man holding a Palestinian flag climbed up the tower housing the famous clock and bell. The man had ascended several meters and was perched barefoot on a ledge of the historic structure, whose official name is Elizabeth Tower.
Police said they were first alerted "to a man climbing up the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament" shortly after 0700 GMT. At around 1000 GMT an emergency team used a fire truck lift and a megaphone to try to speak with the man. But he was still there several hours later.
"Officers are at the scene working to bring the incident to a safe conclusion," London's Metropolitan Police force told Agence France-Presse. "They are being assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service."