Eyewitness: Big Ben ‘hosts’ a pro-Palestine protest

Chris Hobbs attends the latest series of protests which included an illegal climb up a national land mark.

(Main photo credit: Crime Scene Images)

At the beginning of last week, the Met’s Gold Commander who would be responsible for Saturday’s public order events in London, may have felt that he/she could be looking forward to a ‘Q’ word Saturday.

In the diary for months will have been the annual International Woman’s Day march and rally which this year focused on violence against women and girls; few if any policing issues will have been anticipated.

However, during the week it became clear that a pro-Palestine media group intended to protest outside the BBC in Portland Place in respect of what they regard as the pro-Israeli stance of the BBC. Interestingly a recent weekday protest outside the BBC was held by pro-Israelis who complained that the organisation’s news coverage was pro-Palestinian.

The organisers of the proposed Saturday protest will have been fully aware that recently the Palestine Solidarity Campaign were, in effect, banned from holding a Saturday demonstration outside the BBC because of a nearby synagogue and the possibility that its sabbath day of worship could be disrupted.

Some pro-Palestinian activists were making their way to Portland Place when news began to circulate that a Palestine linked incident was taking place; an individual complete with Palestine flag, had scaled the Elizabeth Tower, more popularly known as Big Ben.

After initially opting to spend the day at home watching live and recorded football, I decided to take the Elizabeth Line into London and have a quick look at Portland Place and the women’s march which was assembling close-by. A phone call however resulted in my making the short Jubilee Line journey to Westminster.

On arrival, the station was open but the exit that led directly on to Bridge Street was closed. However, through the shutters it was possible to view the individual who had managed to get to about a third of way up Big Ben. He was certainly far enough up to make his apprehension impossible in terms of safety and whilst any fall might not necessarily be fatal, it would certainly cause serious, life-changing injuries.

Emerging from the Westminster Station subway, it became clear that Bridge Street had been cordoned off by police. A London Fire Brigade appliance was parked within the cordon and apparently some pro-Palestine protesters had briefly and deliberately blocked its path. Also present were three ambulances.

A noisy but small group of pro-Palestine protesters had positioned themselves on the corner of Bridge Street and Parliament Square just yards away from the Keith Palmer memorial. They were clearly within sight of the male positioned a third of the way up the iconic clocktower. By this time the eyes of the world were being focused on Big Ben.

On the opposite side of Bridge Street to where the protesters were showing their support, crowds had gathered whilst in Parliament Square itself, those participating in a protest concerning home tuition, found their attention diverted by events a short distance away.

A London Fire brigade turntable extendable ladder had by now been deployed and three individuals on the ladder’s platform appeared to be in discussion with the protester in question. Comments were subsequently made in respect of the Firefighters Union who had recently instructed their members not to assist police when it came to political protests. They were clearly assisting here.

The number of pro-Palestine protesters had, by now, increased as those intending to protest at the BBC had diverted themselves while others had become aware of the situation via television news or social media. Needless to say, much angry shouted comment was directed against police.

Interestingly, during this period, a lone small boy aged about 8, approached the police cordon. It soon became apparent that he had become separated from his family and had approached the police for help. His parents too had approached other officers a short distance away and a rapid reunification took place.

Section 14 invoked

Clearly, the individual staging his solo protest could only have been encouraged by the growing group of his supporters complete with flags and it came as little surprise when officers began to inform the group that Section 14 of the Public Order Act was being invoked and they would have to relocate to Richmond Terrace opposite Downing Street. This was met with predictable hostility and complaints of a disregard for ‘free speech’ Inevitably comments of ‘racist police’ were thrown into the mix.

Reluctantly, after being gently coaxed by the TSG, the protesters were relocated with other onlookers into Parliament Street which meant they were ‘out of view’ of the protester; gradually Parliament Square was cleared of the public although traffic continued to move around the Square itself.

I decided to go back to Trafalgar Square via the Westminster Station subway. As I emerged by the Thames, I heard chanting and then observed another group of pro-Palestine protesters together with curious onlookers close to the junction with Westminster Bridge. They had a perfect view of the incident from their angle and indeed the errant individual, occupying significant emergency service resources, had a perfect view of them.

Police castigated

On reaching Richmond Terrace, the original group of pro-Palestinians, now numbering around 200, were holding a meeting. One middle-aged speaker referred to a previous protest when hundreds of protesters attempted to defy the imposed conditions and march to the BBC via Trafalgar Square. He accused the police of ‘using their power’ during the incident in terms of ‘batons, sprays and tasers.’ A further accusation was forthcoming in terms of Met officers ‘crushing skulls.’

International Woman’s Day

I continued walking up Whitehall and on reaching Trafalgar Square, thousands of mainly women and girls were entering Trafalgar Square amidst a cacophony of sound from numerous drummers. The atmosphere was one of cheerful determination but placards left onlookers in no doubt of the seriousness of the situation in terms of ‘VAWG.’

I then returned to the public’s vantage point on the Embankment to find that the pro-Palestinian protesters had gone but the numbers of onlookers had increased. It was time to head for home and catch up with the football. Later that night, the individual who had spent some 16 hours precariously perched on Big Ben elected to ‘surrender’ just after midnight thus obviating concerns that he could be overcome by fatigue, fall asleep and fall from his precarious perch.

Daniel Day, 29, of Palmerston Road, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, has been charged with causing a public nuisance and trespassing on a protected site after climbing onto the clock tower. He has predictably been remanded in custody.

Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer who follows public order events as an observer for Police Oracle.

Category: OpsPublic Order