Westminster emergency: Man pinned down by police after punching officer near Parliament
A MAN was arrested after punching a police officer near Parliament in Westminster, London, on Thursday.
Westminster: Police respond to incident outside Parliament
The Met Police confirmed they arrested the man at 3.30pm this afternoon following the incident. A group of officers were seen handcuffing a person on the ground outside Westminster. The attack is not being treated as a terrorist-related incident.
The Met Police said in a statement: "We are aware of commentary on social media about an incident outside Parliament.
"Shortly after 3.30pm, a man was arrested for assault after an officer was punched.
"The officer was not seriously injured and the incident is not being treated as terrorism."
People were quick to share pictures of videos of the incident on social media.
A witness shared a video on Twitter showing a group of police surrounding the person on the ground.
They told Express.co.uk: "I’m in a safe place.
"Looks like the person has been taken from there but the road is still closed."
Another witness wrote on Twitter: "Policeman attacked outside the Palace of Westminster."
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A third person added: "Incident outside Parliament's St Stephen's entrance.
"Man on ground handcuffed."
In a separate incident yesterday, Met Police were also called to Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
They were called following reports of a suspicious package.
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But the incident was also not treated as terror-related.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At approximately 12.30pm on Wednesday, July 7, police were called to a hospital in east London to reports of a suspicious package.
“Officers attended and at 13:33hrs the package was assessed as non-suspicious.
“The premises is now re-opening and the crime scene has been closed.
“This incident is not being treated as terror-related.”
A day earlier on Tuesday, July 6, another separate incident saw Met Police dealing with a murder hunt after a teenager was stabbed to death in Oval.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan recently announced Londoners will see a greater police presence across the capital this summer.
Mr Khan said: "Across this summer, Londoners will see a greater police presence across our city - particularly in areas where there's been a history of violent crime.
"You'll be seeing surge activity in those areas and at the same time, the good news is we're going to be giving young people even more constructive things to do to keep them busy during the summer.
"Sports education, culture during the daytime, events during the weekend, funding youth workers to work with young people, because there's no point us complaining when idle hands get up to no good.
"We're going to have to give idle hands constructive things to do."