UK police close area around Big Ben as man with Palestinian flag scales tower

UK police closed the area around Big Ben in London on Saturday after a man holding a Palestinian flag climbed up the tower housing the famous clock and bell.

The man had ascended several meters (feet) and was perched barefoot on a ledge of the historic structure, whose official name is Elizabeth Tower, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Crowds looked on from beyond a police cordon, while emergency vehicles were deployed in the area and Westminster Bridge was closed.

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 AFP.

"They are being assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service."