WESTMINSTER ALERT: Parliament panic as intruder storms gate - 'I heard a scream'
WESTMINSTER has been hit by panic after an intruder stormed the gates of Parliament. The man has since been detained after armed police swarmed the area.
Westminster: Police arrest 'intruder' at Parliament main gates
The man made it a few metres into the parliamentary estate before police armed with a stun gun ordered him to drop to the ground near the Carriage Gates entrance. Shocking photos showed police pointing weapons at the intruder. He has since been taken away in a police van.
Lobby journalists on the scene took to Twitter to confirm a police incident was underway.
The Telegraph's Christopher Hope said: "Disturbance at the gates of Parliament. Police running towards carriage gates.
"I heard a scream moments before. A man has been tasered.
"About 10 police officers are milling around. Looks like the situation has now calmed down. Two police cars outside carriage gates."
The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg also confirmed an incident had taken place.
She said on Twitter: "Intruder at Parliament being held by police. Not clear what’s happened - all seems calm now.
"Man still being held, arguing with police - he was on the ground when I first saw the disturbance, on his feet now in cuffs talking to officers."
She said the man made it "a few metres" into the Parliamentary estate before being seized.
Reuters pictures showed armed police using a stun gun on the man on the cobbled forecourt.
Westminster: Police arrest man after trespassing
The man was later handcuffed as police pointed a gun at the man's head.
A Reuters photographer said police shouted: “Stop, get down.”
Video taken at the scene and shared on social media showed a man being detained by police officers.
Police have said they do not believe the incident is terror related. The man has been arrested on suspicion of trespass.
Security at Westminster remains high following a number of high-profile incidents in recent months.
In March 2017, terrorist Khalid Masood killed four people on nearby Westminster Bridge and stabbed an unarmed police officer to death near Carriage Gates before being shot dead.
And in August this year, a man was arrested after driving a car into pedestrians and cyclists before ramming into barriers outside the parliament building in what police said appeared to be a terrorism attack.