“At approximately 3.20pm GMT a car slammed into the gates of Downing Street in Whitehall. Armed officers arrested a man at the scene on suspicion of criminal damage and reckless driving,” police said in a statement.
No injuries were recorded, while police said investigations were continuing.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was at his residence, according to British media, and left after the incident.
Video recording of the incident showed a white car driving at a limited speed in Whitehall, where many ministries are located, before apparently heading for the pavement and then coming to a halt after hitting the large metal railings protecting the Downing Street entrance.
And another recording shows a security cordon imposed by the police around the car, and its trunk was open, according to Agence France-Presse.
Simon Barry, 44, said: ‘I heard a bang and saw a large number of police officers holding stun guns and shouting at the man. There were trained dogs and a bomb squad.
Dean Parker, 36, who was on the scene, said the driver “wasn’t nervous, but seemed to be suffering from something”, pointing out that “the car was not going too fast”.
“It didn’t look like he was trying to break down the doors, he said. The shock was limited. The police handled the matter professionally and quickly.”
Downing Street is a short walk from the House of Commons, and the area is witnessing a heavy security presence, with barriers on walkways and in front of government buildings, after previous incidents.
And in 2017 a man hit a pedestrian with his car on a pavement near Parliament, killing 4 people, then rammed the car into the fence surrounding Parliament and ran towards the Parliament campus, where a police officer was stabbed to death. He was then shot dead by an armed policeman.
Large gates were erected at the entrance to Downing Street in 1989 following Irish Republican Army attacks in London, and the group fired 3 pipe bombs at the Prime Minister’s residence in 1991.
The gates are the first line of protection, with armed police stationed at the entrance. Official vehicles entering the street are usually subject to inspection procedures before the poles are lowered to allow them to pass.
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