Trafalgar Square evacuated after police incident
Police were called to the London gallery at 2.35pm today after a man in a ‘distressed condition’ was spotted on its roof
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The National Gallery has closed and areas of Trafalgar Square have been cordoned off following reports of a ‘distressed’ man on the gallery roof.
Met Police were called to the London art museum at 2.35pm today after a man in a “distressed condition” was spotted on its roof, prompting the gallery to ‘temporarily’ close its doors.
The force said: ‘London Ambulance Service has also attended and are attempting to make contact with the man. Officers have attended and local roads have been closed as a precaution.’”
The National Gallery added: “We can confirm that the Gallery will not reopen today. We will update again as soon as we are able to about visiting the Gallery tomorrow.”
The City of Westminster Police wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Due to an ongoing incident, parts of Trafalgar Square near the National Gallery are closed. Please avoid the area.”
A London Ambulance Service spokesman added: “We were called at 2.41pm today (22 August) to reports of an incident in Trafalgar Square.
“We have sent a number of resources including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART). Our crews remain at the scene alongside other emergency services.”
The National Gallery is a major London tourist attraction and contains over 2,300 works such as van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus, Turner’s Fighting Temeraire and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, according to its website.
All major traditions of Western European art work are included, going as far back to 13th century paintings by Duccio, Uccello, van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli, Dürer, Memling and Bellini.
Its 20th century paintings include those by Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Ingres, Degas, Cézanne, Monet and Van Gogh.
In October last year, the gallery closed its doors to one room after Just Stop Oil activists covered Van Gogh’s 1888 Sunflowers work in tomato soup.
The protestors, wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts, threw two tins of Heinz Tomato soup over the £72.5m painting, before kneeling down in front of the painting and applying glue to their hands to stick themselves to a nearby wall.
Visitors were then escorted out by security, who shut the doors to room 43 of the gallery where the painting hangs.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments