Free climber seen scaling the Shard

By Margaret Davis, PA Crime Correspondent

A daredevil free climber has scaled The Shard, one of the tallest buildings in Europe.

The man was spoken to by police after the stunt but not arrested when he was seen on the side of the skyscraper at around 5.15am on Monday.

Onlookers posted footage of the climber, who according to the Daily Mirror made most of the ascent without ropes or suction cups.

The Metropolitan Police said: "Police were called at 5.15am on Monday July 8 following reports of a 'free-climber' on The Shard.

"Emergency services attended and the man went inside the building where he was spoken to by officers. He was not arrested."

Previous climbers who have set their sights on the 310-metre (1,017ft) building include YouTuber CassOnline, who climbed from the public viewing platform to the apex in 2017.

In 2013, a group of Greenpeace activists also scaled the building to protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.

The previous year, The Shard secured a High Court injunction against Alain Robert, the climber nicknamed the French Spiderman, to stop him attempting to scale the building.

A spokesman for Real Estate Management, the asset management company that operates The Shard, said: "We dealt with an incident at The Shard earlier this morning involving a member of the public who climbed the building.

"The person was safely apprehended and detained by police. Some areas around the base of The Shard that were closed to the public as a safety precaution have now been partially re-opened.

"Public safety and the security of the people who live, work and visit The Shard and the surrounding area is of paramount importance to us.

"Fortunately no-one was hurt by this dangerous activity and we will be assisting the police with their investigation."

pic by David Kevin Williams/PA Wire