A man was arrested in Whitehall yesterday afternoon by armed police officers in London following a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation.
The 27-year-old man was arrested in Parliament Street, junction with Parliament Square, by armed officers from the Met's Specialist Firearms Command on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. Knives have been recovered from him, the London police said in a statement. “He is being detained under the Terrorism Act and is in custody in a south London police station,” they added.
"Detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command are continuing their investigation, and as a result of this arrest there is no immediate known threat," police said about the latest arrest.
The arrest occurred a month after a British-born Muslim convert attacked pedestrians on the Westminster Bridge, killing four people, before stabbing to death a police officer in the grounds of the UK parliament.
Pictures on social media showed a large group of heavily armed officers surrounding the suspect. Traffic into Whitehall was disrupted until the London police gave the all-clear later in the evening. The suspect was described as dark-skinned and bearded, wearing a hooded black coat and was detained a stone's throw from the UK parliament building and UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Downing Street office, London police said.
No one was injured in the incident, and May's spokesman said the prime minister was not at Downing Street at the time.
