George King: daredevil jailed over Shard stunt scales another London tower

Free climber ascends 36-storey block with no safety equipment

Free-solo climber George King ascends Stratosphere Tower in Stratford, east London. Getty

A free climber who was jailed for scaling the UK’s tallest building has climbed another high-rise in London.

George King, 21, reached the top of Stratosphere Tower in Stratford, east London, on Tuesday morning.

Residents were seen photographing him from their apartment windows as he made his way up the 39-storey, 117-metre block wearing shorts and a T-shirt.

The daredevil stretched out his arms as he walked the length of a small platform at the top of the block.

He appeared not to have any ropes or suction pads to assist him on his ascent, mirroring his stunt at the 306-metre Shard in 2019.

In April, King also put his life at risk by scaling a 116-metre Barcelona hotel with no safety equipment.

He was jailed for 24 weeks in 2019 after breaching an injunction order imposed by the owners of the Shard. Metropolitan Police officers met him at the top of the tower after he completed his 45-minute climb.

George King at the top of Stratosphere Tower, London. Getty

King was initially charged with public nuisance and trespass but the charges were dropped. The Shard’s owner pursued its own legal proceedings.

His parents, Hilary and Clive, said their son climbed the skyscraper to get a “message across to everyone to follow your passion”.

After his release from prison in January 2020, King said he “would never let adversity extinguish my spirit”.

His Instagram features a number of adrenaline-pumping videos, including one of himself filmed on the roof of a moving train in Berlin. He has similar photos taken on top of trains in Denmark and the UK.

King was the main subject of a documentary for Britain’s Channel 4 in 2020 called The Boy who Climbed the Shard.