Shard freeclimber jailed for 24 weeks for breaching injunction

A climber who scaled the Shard building, in central London, without ropes or suction pads has been jailed for breaching an injunction imposed by its owners.

George King, 20, was sentenced to 24 weeks imprisonment by the Royal Courts of Justice, in London, on Monday.

He freeclimbed the 72-storey skyscraper, the UK’s tallest building, in July. An injunction which prevented people from scaling the building had been put in place in 2018, in order to stop a protest about the number of empty luxury apartments in the Shard from going ahead.

King, who admitted he had been aware of the injunction ahead of the climb, had expressed concern before the court hearing because the lack of other people being prosecuted for breaching it meant there was no precedent set for the harshness of any potential punishment.

Although he was met by Metropolitan police officers after reaching the Shard’s 310-metre (1,017ft) summit in 45 minutes, criminal charges against King for public nuisance and trespass were quickly dropped.

The unaided climb was the first the then 19-year-old had attempted on a high-rise building. On Sunday, he said life had been “pretty crazy” since news of his feat spread. He had quit his job as a personal trainer at a gym after gaining a book deal, was filming a documentary and in talks about hosting his own TV series.

A spokesperson from Real Estate Management Limited, which manages the Shard, said: “Mr George King-Thompson has today been found to be in contempt of court for breaching the terms of an injunction set by the high court in 2018 when he climbed the Shard earlier this year.

“We felt we had no option than to secure the injunction and ask the court to uphold it. We hope that today’s outcome will deter other prospective climbers, and help them recognise the great dangers that these actions pose to the public, emergency services and themselves.”

The Crown Prosecution Service has previously refused to comment on the legal status of climbing high-rise structures such as cranes and skyscrapers, but there are other ways to prosecute people for taking such risks.

The Shard secured a high court injunction against Alain Robert, the urban climber nicknamed the French Spiderman, to stop him from climbing the building in 2018.