LONDON (Reuters) – A man who climbed part way up the ‘Big Ben’ clock tower at London’s Palace of Westminster early on Saturday and stayed there all day as part of a pro-Palestinian protest, appeared in court on Monday.
Clutching a Palestinian flag, Daniel Day, 29, scaled 25 metres (82 feet) up the building, officially known as the Elizabeth Tower, at about 7:20 a.m. on Saturday, remaining there for 16 hours until agreeing to come down, his lawyer and prosecutors told London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
He was subsequently charged by police with climbing and remaining on the tower which created “a risk or caused serious harm to the public”, and also trespassing on a protected site.
Prosecutors said Day’s actions had led to serious disruption in that area of central London with roads closed and buses diverted, and the cancellation of parliamentary tours had cost 25,000 pounds ($32,300).
Day’s lawyer said he would plead not guilty to the first charge, saying his action was designed to spread awareness regarding the situation in Gaza and Britain’s response to it.
The second charge of trespass requires the authorisation of the attorney general, and so the case was adjourned until March 17 for a decision to be made.
Day, from a seaside town in eastern England, was remanded in custody, with his supporters clapping and shouting “Hero” and “Free Palestine” as he was led away.
Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of parliament’s House of Commons, which is also located in the Palace of Westminster, said he had asked for a review of the incident.
($1 = 0.7745 pounds)
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)
