‘Man with knife’ tasered and arrested as Parliament put on lockdown
A man suspected of carrying a knife was arrested by armed police outside the Palace of Westminster yesterday.
Officers placed the entire Parliament complex on lockdown during the incident, with bystanders reporting the man in a grey hooded top being tasered by police. One photo shared on social media appeared to show the suspect being held at gunpoint and then handcuffed.
Police said a man in his thirties was being held on suspicion of possession of a knife “near to the Palace of Westminster”, adding that there were no reports of injuries.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said that “it is too early to understand the motivation [of the man] so we have not declared this a terrorist incident. However, given the location, the circumstances and recent tragic events, the MPS Counter Terrorism Command will be investigating this incident. We remain open-minded as to whether terrorism was a motive.”
A commotion was heard outside Parliament shortly after 11.10am, and armed police ran towards the gates to New Palace Yard, the scene of the terrorist attack on 22 March in which PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death.
Joe Murphy, political editor of the London Evening Standard, said “there were shouts of ‘knife knife knife’ and a man was brought down [by police] with a Taser”.
The gates to the Palace of Westminster were then shut and journalists inside were told they could leave.
St Stephen’s Gate and Carriage Gate were locked, with a number of police vehicles and officers gathered in New Palace Yard.