Roads reopened after controlled explosion outside
Buckingham Palace
Man who allegedly threw items into grounds detained
but police do not believe it was a terrorist incident
Nadeem
Badshah and Vikram Dodd
Tue 2 May
2023 21.26 BST
A man was
arrested outside Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after allegedly throwing items –
suspected to be shotgun cartridges – into the palace grounds.
Officers
detained the man at about 7pm after he approached the gates of the palace in
central London.
He was held
on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon after he was searched and a
knife was found, but he was not carrying a gun, the Metropolitan police said.
Cordons
were put in place after the man was also found to be in possession of a
suspicious bag, the force added. Roads have now reopened and most of the
cordons have been lifted
Specialists
attended and after an assessment a controlled explosion was conducted as a
precaution.
Ch Supt
Joseph McDonald said: “Officers worked immediately to detain the man and he has
been taken into police custody. There have been no reports of any shots fired
or any injuries to officers or members of the public. Officers remain at the
scene and further inquiries are ongoing.”
The king
and the queen consort were not at Buckingham Palace at the time. However, the
king hosted Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, during an audience at
the palace earlier on Tuesday.
Police do
not believe it was a terrorist incident, and the mental health history of the
suspect is being examined. The man arrested is believed to have been acting
alone and it is being treated as an isolated incident.
A
Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “It is not being treated as a terrorist
incident.”
Armed
police who guard the palace can open fire if they perceive a threat to the lives
of themselves or others. Police said no shots were fired.
It comes
amid meticulous preparations for King Charles’s coronation on Saturday at
Westminster Abbey in London in a security operation called Operation Golden
Orb.
Thousands
of officers are being drawn from across the UK for the ceremonial event.
Hundreds of
officers will line the route towards Westminster Abbey while plain-clothed
police will be in the crowds and snipers will be situated on rooftops.
A no-fly
zone in central London will be put into place with drones banned.
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