Pro-Palestine protester, 69, scales 650ft crane near US Embassy and unfurls Palestinian flag

A 69-year-old Palestine protester scaled a 650ft crane near the US Embassy and draped the country’s flag before being hauled down after nearly two days.

Nick Georges, from Hornhatch, near Guildford, Surrey, took two hours to scale the £1billion skyscraper project in central London.

The activist, who is a member of Palestine Action and was arrested for smashing up an Israeli-owned factory in February, spent 30 hours on One Nine Elms from Tuesday.

But officers from the Met hauled him down and arrested him yesterday following the reckless stunt.

Nick Georges, from Hornhatch, near Guildford, Surrey, took two hours to scale the £1billion skyscraper project in central London

The activist, who is a member of Palestine Action and was arrested for smashing up an Israeli-owned factory in February, spent 30 hours up there from Tuesday

The activist, who is a member of Palestine Action and was arrested for smashing up an Israeli-owned factory in February, spent 30 hours up there from Tuesday

Georges started his climb without a helmet or safety gear after breaking into the development project using bolt cutters and a portable ladder at 4am on Tuesday

Georges started his climb without a helmet or safety gear after breaking into the development project using bolt cutters and a portable ladder at 4am on Tuesday

Officers from the Met hauled him down and arrested him yesterday following the reckless stunt

Officers from the Met hauled him down and arrested him yesterday following the reckless stunt

Georges started his climb without a helmet or safety gear after breaking into the development project using bolt cutters and a portable ladder at 4am on Tuesday.

His antics forced police to shut down the main roads surrounding the building for most of the day.

The demonstrator unfurled his Palestine flag from the top and began his sit in protest – refusing to talk to officers concerned about his welfare.

He claimed he had been living off emergency rations of energy bars and water during the stunt.

Despite undertaking the brazen act on his own volition, Georges complained about ‘cold’, ‘uncomfortable’ and only got ‘an hour’s sleep’.

Georges started his climb without a helmet or safety gear after breaking into the development project using bolt cutters and a portable ladder at 4am on Tuesday

Georges started his climb without a helmet or safety gear after breaking into the development project using bolt cutters and a portable ladder at 4am on Tuesday

His antics forced police to shut down the main roads surrounding the building for most of the day

His antics forced police to shut down the main roads surrounding the building for most of the day

He told MyLondon: ‘It’s the most terrifying thing I’ve done in my 69 years of being on this planet. The heights, the fear of falling and breaking into the building site.’

‘It’s been a difficult night. I’ve been worried about falling out and it’s been freezing cold.

‘I got an hour’s sleep the whole night. It’s so uncomfortable up here but luckily I haven’t slipped and fallen.’

He said he wanted to protest to show solidarity with the treatment of the people of Palestine.

Georges had planned to stay atop the skyscraper until 6pm on Wednesday, but was unceremoniously hauled down yesterday afternoon.

It was the activist’s second attempt at getting up the tower after previously finding a padlock on the entrance to the crane.

Police closed off the busy road passing the US Embassy up to Wandsworth Road, causing major disruption.

Georges, a former crane worker, lived in Beirut when he was 17 and said he saw the plight of the Palestinians.

Georges had planned to stay atop the skyscraper until 6pm on Wednesday, but was unceremoniously hauled down yesterday afternoon

Georges had planned to stay atop the skyscraper until 6pm on Wednesday, but was unceremoniously hauled down yesterday afternoon

It was the activist's second attempt at getting up the tower after previously finding a padlock on the entrance to the crane

It was the activist’s second attempt at getting up the tower after previously finding a padlock on the entrance to the crane

He said that he did nothing about it for 50 years before starting to protest six years ago.

In February he was arrested for his part in a reckless stunt to destroy an Israeli-owned factory in Staffordshire.

He was one of six people detained for climbing on the roof of the UAV Engines site in Shenstone near Lichfield.

The protesters smashed windows with hammers and sprayed red paint – simulating blood – across the brickwork.

The activists claimed the site, owned by Elbit Systems UK, was supplying drones to Israel’s military.

His latest demonstration took place near the £1billion development project surrounding the US Embassy.

Huge sums of cash have been chucked at revamping Battersea Power Station and creating modern apartments nearby.

The skyscraper Georges scaled will be 650ft when finished – as high as the Gherkin in central London.