Protester who climbed Big Ben tower sentenced

A protester with failing eyesight who climbed Big Ben's tower barefoot and sat on the landmark for 17 hours while displaying a Palestinian flag has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

The court previously heard that the stunt by the unemployed 30-year-old cost taxpayers an estimated £92,000.

On Monday at Southwark Crown Court, the defendant of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, was given a 14-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

Crowds gathered behind police cordons beside the Elizabeth Tower

Judge Tony Baumgartner, the recorder of Westminster, said: "This was well-planned offending and you knew precisely what you were doing."

He added that Day had "foolishly" climbed up the tower "far enough to cause very serious harm to you and possibly others if you fell".

The judge found Day had "little insight into your offending or any real remorse", but he noted he had not offended since the Big Ben incident and had strong personal mitigation including failing eyesight.

Day was ordered to attend up to 20 rehabilitation days and he will be electronically monitored for four months as part of his suspended sentence.

Jurors were told that mattresses were put down at the base of the tower to try to protect him because he was in a "precarious position".

Transport for London lost an estimated £25,000 in bus fares as diversions were put in place and routes curtailed, jurors were told.

CCTV played in court showed Day, wearing a black coat and a baseball cap, scaling the building barefoot.

Baumgartner said having strong principles "doesn't give a licence to break the law".

The judge added: "You, and people like you, must understand that like everyone else you are subject to the laws of this country.

"You and others like you do not get to decide which laws you will follow and which laws you will break.

Prosecutor Jack Guise said dozens of police officers from across London had to be redeployed to the incident in Westminster, a cherry picker was on site throughout the protest, and firefighters and paramedics spent hours on the scene during the day.

Day was given a conditional discharge in June 2024 for failing to remove a facial disguise and received £200 in fines in November 2024 for blocking a road during a protest.

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