SEIZED, WITH A RUCKSACK FULL OF KNIVES

THIS is the smirking terror suspect arrested with a rucksack ‘ full of knives’ just yards from Downing Street yesterday. Just a month after the terror atrocity in Westminster that claimed five lives, armed police swooped on the suspected Islamic extremist as he crossed Whitehall. The 27-year-old man, who was known to police and the security services,

managed to get within yards of Downing Street before officers pounced as he reached into his backpack containing at least five knives.

Tourists screamed in horror as armed officers leapt on the suspect, scattering three of the weapons to the ground as they ripped off his backpack and searched him at gunpoint on a crossing at the entrance to Parliament Street.

Last night, as the man was being quizzed at a South London police station after being arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack, it emerged:

The suspect had been under surveillance for a number of weeks after his family tipped off police;

Officers who suspected he was going to carry out a knife attack followed the man yesterday as he travelled from his home in SouthEast London to Westminster on the Underground;

The suspected plot is thought to have been inspired by Islamic State;

The suspect is believed to have a British passport, although he was not born here;

Prime Minister Theresa May, who was away from Downing Street at the time, hailed the bravery of the police and the security services.

The incident has raised fresh fears about security barely a month after Khalid Masood mowed down tourists on Westminster Bridge on March 22 before stabbing a police officer to death at the Houses of Parliament.

Police said the suspect had no link to Masood, but they believe he was planning a terrorist atrocity when he was held near the Foreign Office and 250 yards from the gates to Downing Street.

Officers believed he was going to carry out a knife attack but decided to wait to gather evidence before making the dramatic arrest.

Witness Chris Kacyk, 40, said he saw the suspect reaching into his rucksack before being pounced on by police. He said: