Protester climbs Westminster scaffolding

House of Commons security was breached again today as a protester scaled scaffolding near to Big Ben.

The man took his spot, high above Speaker's Green, at about 5.15am and ignored police appeals for him to come down.

He unfurled a banner stating: "Questions for our government - what power have you got? Where did you get it from? In who's interest do you exercise it? To who are you accountable? How do we get rid of you?"

Sally Bercow, wife of Commons Speaker John Bercow, announced on Twitter that the protester was "right outside our kitchen" and that she had dressed her children in case they were forced to evacuate the building.

She said their four-year-old had asked why there were "200 policemen outside just looking at the man?".

A fellow protester from the "Democracy Village" encampment on Parliament Square said the Commons demonstrator was opposed to the war in Afghanistan but refused to name him.

The Metropolitan Police said the man had been there since 5.15am and officers were trying to persuade him to come down of his own volition.

It comes on the day that mayor of London Boris Johnson is bringing legal action to remove those camped in Parliament Square.

Last week, another peace protester used a ladder to get past Commons security and scale the scaffolding.