Gun police swoop on Parliament intruder

AN INTRUDER lies sprawled on the ground after climbing a gate to get into the grounds of Parliament yesterday.

The unidentified man was arrested after being surrounded by officers armed with an assault rifle and tasers shortly after scaling the gate at 3pm.

PC Keith Palmer, 4 , was on duty at the same Carriage Gates when terrorist Khalid Masood stabbed him to death in 2017. Scotland Yard said the incident yesterday was not terrorist-related, but the motive was unclear.

Wearing a woolly hat, jeans and trainers, the unarmed intruder is thought to have pedalled to Parliament on a bike he dumped on the street yards away. Police denied witness claims he was tasered.

A spokesman said: ‘A man was detained and arrested at Carriage Gates inside the Palace of Westminster on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site. Inquiries into the circumstances continue. This is not being treated as a terrorist incident.’ A short time earlier, another man was arrested for allegedly jumping in front of the Prime Minister’s car as it went through Westminster. The incidents are not thought to be linked.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed: ‘A 51-year-old male was arrested on suspicion of obstructing the highway.’ He was later bailed.