A policeman was sprayed in the face with a mystery substance outside Parliament by a suspect who fled the scene last night following a major security breach.
The Metropolitan Police said the officer was attacked with the substance at around 8pm yesterday while on duty at the Palace of Westminster in Millbank, central London.
Police are using a helicopter to search for the suspect, who ran in the direction of Victoria Tower Gardens after the incident. The officer suffered mild irritation to his face and was assessed by London Ambulance Service, Scotland Yard said. He did not require hospital treatment.
It comes hours after a man was arrested after allegedly climbing over a fence at the Houses of Parliament before being pinned down by armed police. The suspect got through the gate in front of the building before officers dragged him to the ground.
One photo shows the intruder clambering over two fences before being detained on the grass at New Palace Yard while police trained their guns on him. Another image showed a bike abandoned on the road just metres from Parliament. A later photo showed the man being guarded by two policemen with his arms bound behind his back in handcuffs.
Scotland Yard said he was arrested at Carriage Gates on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site, but added it was not being treating as terror related. Last night the force said he remains in custody and enquiries are ongoing.
The suspect made it through the same entrance where PC Keith Palmer was brutally murdered in a terrorist attack in 2017.
It comes hours after a man was arrested after allegedly climbing over a fence at the Houses of Parliament before being Tasered and pinned down by armed police
One photo showed the intruder - wearing a woolly hat, jeans and trainers - being arrested on the grass at New Palace Yard while police trained their guns on him
Another pictured a bicycle abandoned on the road just metres away from Parliament, having covered most of the distance from the main road
The suspect made it through the same entrance where PC Keith Palmer was brutally murdered in a terrorist attack in 2017
The man was hauled into the courtyard outside the building while shouting at the officers with their hands on his shoulders.
He was later moved to another part of the grounds towards the exit while continuing to yell at the police. Officers then bundled him into the back of an arriving police van while he bawled: 'My rights.'
Almost a dozen policemen formed a perimeter around the area while he was dealt with, having already been on the scene due to Prime Minister's Questions and a large protest in Parliament Square.
The suspect made it through the same entrance where PC Keith Palmer (pictured) was brutally murdered in 2017
Elliot Keck, who works in the office of Romford MP Andrew
