Tower Bridge has been closed after a man clambered up the landmark to perch on railings – following a 16-hour stand-off involving a protester at the Elizabeth Tower.
Pictures and footage shared online showed crowds gathering to look up at the man wearing a hooded top as he balanced on the iconic London crossing.
Among those witnessing the scene was someone who posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘This dude just chilling on Tower Bridge right now. Traffic and boats all disrupted.’
Many people were seen taking photographs, while emergency services including firefighters arrived at the scene.
City Of London Police said: ‘Tower Bridge is closed to traffic and pedestrians due to a person who has scaled the railings. Please avoid the area where possible.’
The London Fire Brigade said: ‘Firefighters are responding alongside the police service to reports of a person on Tower Bridge.
‘The Brigade was first called about the incident at 1040, and firefighters from Lambeth River, Whitechapel, Edmonton and Soho fire stations are at the scene.’
The latest incident comes after a man scaled the Elizabeth Tower containing Big Ben in Westminster shortly before 7.30am on Saturday and clung to that building for 16 hours in a stand-off.
A man in a grey hooded top was seen sitting on Tower Bridge’s railings today
Onlookers captured pictures and footage after the man climbed on to the London landmark
City of London Police said Tower Bridge was closed to traffic and pedestrians in response
Daniel Day, 29, of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex has been charged with causing a public nuisance and trespassing on a protected site in relation to the Elizabeth Tower incident, the Metropolitan Police today said.
He was remanded to later appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
A major emergency response was sparked on Saturday after a man scaled part of the structure while waving a Palestine flag and sat on the 96m-high landmark.
Parliamentary tours were cancelled during the incident and roads around it were closed.
Footage showed rescuers using a cherry picker to reach the protestor, who had been perched on a stone ledge several metres up the tower.
Scotland Yard said in a previous statement ahead of today’s announcement: ‘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 group of pro-Palestine protestors held a demonstration outside Charing Cross police station in central London yesterday afternoon in protest over the arrest.
They were heard chanting, ‘Let him go’, as well as ‘Free, free Palestine – from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’.
