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Protesters scale Westminster Palace

LONDON: In a major security breach, a group of protesters campaigning against the expansion of Heathrow airport on Wednesday climbed on the roof of the heavily-guarded Westminster Palace, which houses the two Houses of Parliament, and stayed there for several hours as the police watched helplessly.

After unfurling a banner, the six protesters, among whom was one woman, raised slogans and threw paper planes while waving at the large crowd gathered at Parliament’s gates.

Television channels, including the BBC, carried “live” images of the dramatic scenes as police struggled to deal with the situation. The stand-off lasted nearly three hours, overshadowing Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Question Hour in the Commons. The protesters were later detained by the police.

Mr. Brown criticised the protest, saying decisions must be made in “the chamber of this House and not on the roof of this House”.

A spokesman for the campaign group Plane Stupid, which had organised the protest, said they were opposed to further expansion of Heathrow airport because it would contribute to pollution besides subjecting some two million Londoners to increased levels of noise.

On Monday, activists of the same group had entered Heathrow and draped a banner over a plane.

Police suspected that there was a “strong possibility” that the protesters might have been guests of Westminster pass-holders.

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