Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on a pro-Palestine protestor being charged after climbing Big Ben

A 29-year-old who scaled Big Ben's Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster in central London has been charged by police after the incident took place.

Daniel Day has been charged with causing a public nuisance and trespassing on a protected site after climbing the clock tower - resulting in the closure of Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says Day is expected to appear in court in the coming hours.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right now. There, We're going to Devin Gray are UK
correspondent Gavin good evening. Hi there right now. A man
has been charged by police over an incident involving Big Bean.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Yes so, a man with bare feet scaled the side
of Big Ben spent twenty no roughly sixteen and a
half hours on alleged several meters up the tower. It
led to widespread disruption at the weekend with the closure
of Westminster Bridge, which was very bad for traffic nearby

(00:31):
one of the exits of Westminster Underground station and nearby
Bridge Street as well. Tours of Parliament were also counseled
in response. This also a found small beer. But you know,
London is so busy at the moment. The closures of
major bridges are a huge problem and the emergency services,
who then brought in a cherry pick at a try
and talking down, eventually did get the twenty nine year

(00:54):
old suspect down from the bridge from the tower rather
and there were people at the foot of the tower
shouting Free Palestine and ra hero. The twenty nine year
old suspect have been carrying a Palestinian flag, waving it
from the ledge that he was stood on. For so long,
and Westminster police say he was arrested once he reached

(01:17):
the ground. It was a protracted incident in their own words,
and now he's been charged. We'll wait to see at
his court appearance a little later on to that Westminster
Magistrates Court. What's going to happen next.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Okay, we'll keep on watching brief on that one. Now, obviously,
all the ladies in Europe are coming together and trying
to form a consensus on Ukraine, and the Latvian president
has said that actually we're a bit weak at the moment,
let's look at conscription.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Yeah, very much. So they're not the only ones as
well that are neighboring Russia and or Ukraine, the Baltics.
Some of the Baltics, of course are former Russian republics,
and they really do fear that Russia's just getting a
taste for trying to claim back what it believes is
it's lamb But these now independent countries are very uncomfortable.

(02:04):
So the Latvian President, Edgar Rinkoviks is basically saying that
he now thinks that the continent is quite weak militarily,
that's his quote, and says that European countries or European
countries should introduce conscription. Latvia introduced conscription back in twenty
twenty three and has now pushed defense spending up considerably higher,

(02:28):
to four percent of the country's GDP. It's gross domestic
product or its output, so he said in this interview.
Lots of people are feeling a bit nervous. People are
following the news. Of course, reassurances are one thing, but
another thing is other European governments have to make sure
that we all get stronger, and says the other Baltic states,
Estonia and Lithuania really are the litmus test for NATO

(02:51):
and nerves very very high. We've even heard this last
week as well that Poland is looking to introduce some
military service for all men in Poland.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Interesting right, the Crufts Dog Show just to change gear
for a second in Birmingham and the UK.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
You've got a winner, Yeah, the four year old whipp
it from Venice in Italy. So whippets look rather like
a greyhound and it beat more than eighteen thousand dogs
from around the world to claim the title. Quite controversial choice.
Many people think that the dog that came runner up
sheet have won, but mucha was with his handler and

(03:30):
it's the first time a dog from Italy has won
the Best in show. From eighteen thousand dogs they were
chosen and it really comes with a huge trophy, but
the rewards are really remarkably little, just about four hundred
and forty New Zealand dollars that's all you get. But
it is of course the prestige. It is the hope

(03:51):
of being able to breed from the dog as well,
and so consequently a lot of people very interested in
the winners and the losers as it were, of crafts
which is held in Venice, held in Birmingham rather in
the midlands of the UK.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Thank you so much, Gavin. Gavin Gray are UK correspondent.
Isn't that interesting? Four hundred and forty dollars for the
win and there were eighteen thousand dogs presumably paying some
kind of interance fee.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
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