National Gallery closed due to incident on roof

The National Gallery in London had to be evacuated and closed to the public on Tuesday (22 September) due to an incident involving a man who climbed onto its roof.

As of Wednesday (23 September) morning, the incident was ongoing with a heavy police presence visible at the gallery.

Police described the man as "distressed". Social media footage showed him sitting and standing on the area above the Sainsbury Wing of the gallery.

On Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the National Gallery shared an update stating: "The incident continued throughout the night and part of following morning, with Trafalgar Square and the gallery remaining closed.

"At around 11.25am a man was detained under the mental health act and taken to hospital. The gallery opened to visitors at around 12pm"

Summer on the Square, an event scheduled to take place in Trafalgar Square across this week, reopened again on Wedenesday afternoon.

An investigation is now underway into how the man accessed the gallery roof.