George King: Daredevil free solo climber jailed over Shard stunt scales 36-storey London tower block

A free solo climber jailed for scaling The Shard has climbed the 36-storey Stratosphere Tower building in Stratford.

George King, from Oxford, was pictured walking along the top of the building in east London on Tuesday morning.

In one picture, King is seen holding his arms out as he balances with no harness or ropes on a ledge high above the capital.

The former personal trainer said he climbed the block to draw attention to climate change because it overlooked Pudding Mill Lane Tube station which flooded last week following torrential downpours in the capital.

King said: “I picked this climb because a couple of weeks ago I saw a photo go viral of a Stratford station under water because of a flood following the heatwave.

“It was a stark reminder of how bad climate change is getting, so I thought: what can I do to help promote the message – me of not much power in this world?

“I saw one of the tallest buildings in Stratford so decided last week to climb it, and since then it has just been intense preparation to get me to that point.

“I would urge political leaders to take drastic action as soon as possible to get this situation under control.”

King said after starting his ascent at 5am it took him less than 30 minutes to reach the roof, but he did feel worried at one point when his grip began to slip.

“The night before, there’s always a lot of pressure when you know you’ve got to climb first thing in the morning, so the nerves were high, the fear was there, but I had it under control and by morning time I went and did it – and I’m alive,” he said.

“But one of the things which I underestimated was how from eight floors right to the top the windows had lots of stuff on them and they were extremely slippery.

“That was the only fear and disconcerting thing about it.”

He added: “I gained a lot from this experience. I come away from each climb enlightened.

“It’s an indescribable feeling – it’s like trying to describe a colour to a blind person. The feeling I get from doing these things is just out of this world.”

In 2019 King served 12 weeks of a six-month sentence for climbing The Shard after admitting being in contempt of court.

An injunction was put in place at the London skyscraper to prevent people scaling the building. He reached the top in just 45 minutes.

Today people living living near the Stratosphere Tower posted videos as King completed his latest climb.

When asked whether a six-month stay in Pentonville Prison deterred him from illegally scaling a second skyscraper, Mr King-Thompson said he resolved to complete the feat while still behind bars.

Mr King-Thompson, who shares his climbs on his Instagam as @shardclimber, said: “I decided to do it as I came out of prison to be honest, or maybe inside prison.

“I climbed with a roof below, so if I were to fall, I’d fall upon the roof,” he added.

“I was at zero danger to the public and caused no disruption. So all considering, I’m all good.”

The Metropolitan Police said they used a police helicopter to search the area after they received a call, but could not locate the climber.

The force said in a statement: "Police were called at approximately 5.42am on Tuesday August 3 after a man was spotted at height on Great Eastern Road, Stratford.

"Officers attended along with National Police Air Service helicopter.

"Officers carried out a thorough search of the area and found no trace of anybody matching the description."