An Extinction Rebellion demonstrator dressed up as Boris Johnson has climbed up the scaffolding around the base of Big Ben.
The man, named by the environmental protest group as 43-year-old tree surgeon Ben Atkinson, clambered up wearing a costume and blonde wig mimicking the prime minister.
He was said to have carried out a "free solo climb" of the Queen Elizabeth Tower to "highlight government inaction on the climate and ecological emergency".
Speaking on the phone from the scaffolding, Mr Atkinson told Sky News: "I don't think Boris is doing his job properly – he needs to get past Brexit and start thinking about the sixth mass extinction event that's happening as we speak.
"It's not as dramatic and not happening as quickly, but it's a lot more important."
Advertisement
Crowds gathered below to watch the dangerous stunt, with Mr Atkinson having unfurled a rainbow-coloured flag adorned with the Extinction Rebellion logo and the words: "No pride on a dead planet."
Another sign draped from the tower reads: "Citizens Assembly."
More from UK
One of the many demands the group has made is for the government to create a citizens assembly "on climate and ecological justice", which it says politicians should be led by when it comes to environmental issues.
It has said members would be randomly selected from across the country, similar to jury service, to discuss and make recommendations on how to respond to the climate emergency.
Mr Atkinson has been waving to people on the ground, who have cheered him on.
He told Sky News he was not scared of heights after spending his childhood climbing trees – and said a lack of security made it easy for him to climb up the scaffolding.
"Attention is a currency and the attention is on all the wrong things right now," he added.
"This is trying to draw the attention to the important things of our time."
A parliament spokesman told Sky News: "We are aware of a trespasser on the Elizabeth Tower which is being dealt with by the Metropolitan Police and the Parliamentary Security Department."
Mr Atkinson also posted on Facebook from the scaffolding, writing: "We got the declaration of climate emergency last time. Now perhaps, please Boris, you're struggling to navigate Brexit let alone work our way out of the sixth mass extinction event. Please. Pretty please…. let's get on with the citizens assembly. Thank's Boris."
He added: "I know somewhere in there you have compassionate feelings towards something other then your career.
"You've got Premiership. Now you've got a chance to do something that could last for centuries. A legacy of being the man that turned it all around. Dare you. Oh, and thanks Greta. I heard you calling."
His post included a shout-out to Greta Thunberg, the teen climate activist who inspired millions of people around the world to take part in a global climate strike last month.
Metropolitan Police have closed the entrance to Westminster Tube station and remain at the scene of the stunt, which comes on the penultimate day of a fortnight of protests across London.
Officers have arrested more than 1,750 people so far and more are likely before the demonstrations come to a conclusion over the weekend.
Activists have spent Friday bringing traffic to a standstill at Oxford Circus in the West End, and hundreds have marched through Westminster in defiance of Read More – Source
