British police say they do not treat a car crash at the front gates of Downing Street — where British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office and residence are located — as "terrorism-related".
Earlier, the Metropolitan Police said armed officers had arrested a person after his car crashed into the gate of Government House in Downing Street in central London.
Police indicated that no one was injured in the incident, but arrested the driver on suspicion of causing criminal damage and driving dangerously, and that they began investigating the circumstances of the incident.
Television footage broadcast by the BBC showed the car crossing the road towards Downing Street and approaching the gate at low speed, with no damage to the main gate apparently.
An unnamed eyewitness said the driver was a white man in his fifties, while London police said in a statement that "there is still a limited security cordon outside Downing Street after the collision."
Downing Street is the headquarters of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, which is also the residence of Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, and other government buildings are heavily guarded by armed officers around the clock.
Large gates were erected at the entrance to Downing Street in 1989, following attacks by the Irish Republican Army in London.
The gates are the first line of protection with armed police deployed at the entrance, and official cars entering the street are usually subject to searches, before reinforced poles are lowered to allow them to pass.