Police say a automotive has collided with the gates of Downing Avenue in central London, the place the British prime minister’s house and workplaces are positioned
Police on the scene after a automotive collided with the gates of Downing Avenue, in London, Thursday Might 25, 2023. Police say a automotive has collided with the gates of Downing Avenue in central London, the place the British prime minister’s house and workplaces are positioned. The Metropolitan Police drive says there are not any experiences of accidents. Police mentioned a person was arrested on the scene on suspicion of prison harm and harmful driving. It was not instantly clear whether or not the crash was deliberate. (Ben Hatton/PA through AP)
The Related Press
LONDON — A automotive collided Thursday with the gates of Downing Avenue in central London, the place the British prime minister’s house and workplaces are positioned, setting off a fast safety response in one in every of London’s most-fortified websites.
The Metropolitan Police drive mentioned a person was arrested Thursday afternoon on the scene on suspicion of prison harm and harmful driving. There have been no experiences of accidents.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in his workplace on the time.
Video footage posted on social media confirmed a white automotive heading straight for the gates at low velocity throughout Whitehall, the primary thoroughfare in London’s authorities district.
Footage shot quickly after confirmed a automotive with its trunk open up in opposition to the tall metallic gates, as law enforcement officials inspected the car.
It was not instantly clear whether or not the crash was deliberate. Police mentioned they have been working to determine the circumstances.
“I heard a bang and regarded up and noticed a great deal of police with taser weapons shouting on the man,” mentioned witness Simon Parry, 44. “Loads of police autos got here in a short time and have been very fast to evacuate the world.”
The BBC confirmed a photograph of officers main away a person with handcuffed arms behind his again.
Officers cordoned off Whitehall after the crash however started to raise the obstacles inside half an hour, permitting individuals again into Whitehall, which usually teems with civil servants and vacationers eager to see the close by Homes of Parliament and different historic buildings.
Downing Avenue is a slim road with a row of Georgian homes that features the prime minister’s official residence at No. 10.
Public entry to the road is restricted and the gates are protected always by armed law enforcement officials.
The gates have been erected in 1989 in response to threats from Irish Republican Military militants. In 1991 the IRA fired three mortars on the road, one in every of which exploded within the yard of No. 10 whereas Prime Minister John Main was main a Cupboard assembly inside. Three law enforcement officials and a civil servant suffered minor accidents.