Police on standby as man spotted on UK parliament roof

LONDON, United Kingdom||Sunday 3/8/2015 – 00:39 GMT|201 words

Police were in attendance Sunday at the British parliament after a man was spotted wandering about on the roof.

Fire crews and an ambulance team were also at the Palace of Westminster in central London, though there was no indication of who the man is or why he is on the building roof.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said officers were on the scene to deal with the incident.

“At 9:15 pm (2115 GMT Saturday) officers were made aware of a man trespassing on the roof at the Palace of Westminster. London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service are in attendance,” she said.

The roof has been the scene of stunts by campaigners in the past, including by protesters demonstrating against plans for a third runway at London Heathrow Airport in 2008, and by Greenpeace a year later.

The BBC said the man was on his own, moving around a lot and seemed calm, with his hands in his pockets, staring down at the swelling crowd of onlookers on the ground.

The 19th century Gothic Revival landmark, on the north bank of the River Thames, is home to the lower House of Commons and the upper House of Lords.