Protesters scale Streatham mosque roof before Friday prayers

The men, dressed as Spiderman and Superman, say they are linked to Fathers4Justice

5 February 2016

Two men dressed as Spiderman and Superman scaled the roof of a south London mosque today as part of a protest.

The pair kicked off their stunt just before afternoon prayers at the South London Islamic Centre in Mitcham Lane, Streatham, at around 11.40am.

Once on the roof, they unveiled a banner complaining about “parental alienation” in the family courts and another one which read “pray for jihadi daddies”.

Supporter Archi Ssan said there had been a crowd of around 150 people watching the protest at one stage.

He told the Standard: “Some members of the public have thrown up some hot food. I saw six chicken pieces go up.”

Mr Ssan claimed that more than a dozen police had turned up and cordoned off the road.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">We've finished prayers now and they are still up there, with 'suicidal' attempt to gain attention. Interesting. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/m0z4QwwUVr" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3174096-https://t.co/m0z4QwwUVr" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/m0z4QwwUVr</a> — Purview (@abdul_semi) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/abdul_semi/status/695595748587659265" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3174096-https://twitter.com/abdul_semi/status/695595748587659265" data-vars-event-id="c23">February 5, 2016</a>

The 54-year-old said: “They went up just before Friday prayers and have continued with it. They engaged with some of the worshippers as they went in.”

A staff member at the mosque said the men had turned up before Friday prayers and had stayed up there ever since.

The Met Police confirmed they were called to the mosque at midday after initial reports of "an altercation".

A spokesman said: "Officers attended and established that two men in their 40s had scaled the roof of the building. Police negotiators are on the scene."

In November, a similar protest saw two men climb on to the Queen’s Gallery roof at Buckingham Palace.

The pair remained there for eight hours until they were arrested.

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Protesters scale Streatham mosque roof before Friday prayers

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