A PALESTINE protester scaled the tower containing Big Ben and remained atop the historic landmark for 16 hours at the weekend before he was brought down by authorities.

The solo demonstrator climbed Parliament’s Elizabeth Tower barefoot on Saturday morning and then unfurled a Palestine flag.

He was eventually brought to the ground in a cherry-picker at around 1am yesterday.

In videos shared on social media the day before, the man was seen climbing over a fence surrounding the Houses of Parliament without any security guards intervening.

Crowds of supporters gathered nearby behind police cordons, giving shouts of “free Palestine.”

The protester shared clips from the action on social media, stating in one video: “While they’ve got our political prisoners locked up, I’m staying up here,” as he spoke to negotiators who had ascended on an aerial platform.

“I will come down on my own terms.”

He chanted in another: “Stop the weaponisation of terrorism legislation against Palestine Action activists. Free the Filton 18.”

The 18 activists were arrested after protesting against Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.

They are accused of having a “terrorism connection” and are currently jailed on remand.

A Palestine Action spokesperson said: “We applaud the activist for taking solidarity action and highlighting the state’s abuse of power against political dissidents.

“We live in extraordinary times, where war criminals roam free, while anti-war protesters are arrested for invented crimes and anti-genocide activists spend long periods detained without trial.

“As our brave comrade has stated: ‘This is the start of fascism’.”

The spokesperson said marches and peaceful protests had “gone ignored,” adding: “The bombs keep falling and Palestinians keep dying, killed by British-manufactured weapons and with the complicity of British politicians.

“Whatever the level of police state repression, we will continue to use direct action and escalate our campaign to rid Britain of Israeli arms manufacturers.”

Westminster police said the man had been arrested once he reached the ground.

It is not the first time protesters have used Big Ben to voice their concerns.

In 2019, an Extinction Rebellion activist wearing a blond wig and dressed as then prime minister Boris Johnson was arrested after climbing the scaffolding surrounding the tower.