The man was spotted approaching the top of London's tallest building credit: David Kevin Williams

This move surprised some people, who argued that it could set a precedent for more climbers attempting dangerous stunts without the threat of legal action.

Police sources told The Telegraph: "The officers make case by case decisions when it comes to arrests, and they saw no arrestable offences here.

"Of course that doesn't give people carte blanche to do what they like on London's buildings, and although it was judged that a criminal offence didn't take place, there may be a civil element between the owners of the building and the climber."

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A spokesperson from Real Estate Management (REM), the asset management company that operates the Shard, said "We dealt with an incident at The Shard this morning involving a member of the public who climbed the building. The person was safely apprehended and detained by Police.

"Public safety and the security of the people who live, work and visit The Shard and the surrounding area is of paramount importance to us. Fortunately no-one was hurt by this dangerous activity and we are in dialogue about this matter with the Metropolitan Police and the other relevant authorities.

"We will always push for a prosecution if it is clear that any law has been broken to maintain the ongoing safety of the area."

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On Monday evening, George King, who calls himself a Stuntman / Urban climber on his social media profiles, took credit for the climb.

He wrote on Instagram: "Freesolo the shard. 45mins. A lot of misinformation about suction cups in the media at the moment. Here is a little snippet video. Enjoy.

"I was thirteen and on a school trip when I first laid eyes on The Shard. I felt an immediate passion to climb it - the same type of passion I want to the world to feel. In the past I’ve been called a daredevil, an adrenaline junkie, a reckless teenager and much more.

"I’ve always found that these names come from those who are ignorant or misunderstood about what I really do and why. It takes years of training and careful preparation to be where I am today, and this practice is achievable only because I see myself as someone who has followed a respectable passion, albeit an unusual one. I believe that every single one of us has a gift.

"Your mission is to find that gift, make it your passion, and then make it your purpose. Since my climbing began, I’ve gone to places I never knew existed, met people I’ll never lose touch with, and experienced things I could never have foreseen."

Previous climbers who have set their sights on the 310-metre (1,017ft) building include YouTuber CassOnline, who climbed from the public viewing platform to the apex in 2017.

In 2013, a group of Greenpeace activists also scaled the building to protest against oil drilling in the Arctic.

The previous year, The Shard secured a High Court injunction against Alain Robert, the climber nicknamed the French Spiderman, to stop him attempting to scale the building.

Mr Robert, whose feats have included climbing Dubai's 2,717ft (828m) Burj Khalifa, climbed the Heron Tower in the City of London and was arrested by police in October 2018.

The 56-year-old daredevil, who is known for scaling skyscrapers with his bare hands, said before his climb: "I fully feel alive when my life is at stake. It may sound a bit scary and crazy but this is the way it is."

The illegal ascent of the 662ft (202m) tower - now known as the Salesforce Tower - is with no safety gear, without a rope and with bare hands.

Uniformed City of London Police officers set up a taped cordon stopping traffic around the building and ushered the growing crowd to move back and keep out of the road.

Police officers waited for him at the top of the building and escorted him away.