- First emergency call was made at 11.32am when a man was acting suspiciously
- But he was not arrested until noon after he started to climb scaffolding
- Armed police flooded into New Palace Yard, the main thoroughfare of Parliament
Armed police scrambled to Parliament today after a man tried to break into the Palace of Westminster by climbing scaffolding around the Big Ben clock tower
Police took almost 30 minutes to arrest a man who tried to break into Parliament by climbing scaffolding on the Big Ben clock tower.
Armed officers were scrambled to New Palace Yard – the main thoroughfare in and out of Parliament – to respond to the incident.
Armed officers could be seen stationed on the huge scaffold around the Elizabeth Tower.
The Met confirmed it received a call at 11.32am and arrested a man at noon after he climbed onto the scaffold.
The new incident comes 14 months after a major terrorist attack in Westminster which saw PC Keith Palmer murdered at the gates trying to stop Khalid Masood charging into Parliament armed with knives.
The Parliamentary estate was not locked down during today’s incident and people continued to enter and leave as normal.
The tower is completely enclosed in scaffolding for major renovations works.
John Clark, a photographer who was in Westminster, told MailOnline: ‘I saw the police turn up.
‘There were three or four police cars that turned up and there were policemen in dark blue uniforms.
‘I think I must have just missed it.’
The new incident comes 14 months after a major terrorist attack in Westminster which saw PC Keith Palmer murdered at the gates trying to stop Khalid Masood charging into Parliament armed with knives
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘Police have dealt with a man climbing on the scaffolding at the palace of Westminster.
‘Officers were called at 11.32am on Wednesday, 30 May to reports of a man acting suspiciously near Carriage Gates.
‘When officers located the man, he climbed over the fence and climbed the scaffolding to the roof of the palace.
‘The man was arrested at 12 noon for trespassing on a designated site.;’
A House of Commons spokesman said: ‘We are aware of a situation and direct any queries to the Metropolitan Police.’
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