Eight people have been arrested after two terror plots were intercepted in London. Met Police say that the incidents are unrelated.
Details are developing, but here’s what we know so far.
Whitehall, April 27 14:00GMT
In a statement outside New Scotland Yard on Friday, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu confirmed that a 27-year-old man was arrested in Whitehall on Thursday by armed officers from the Met Police Specialist Firearms Command.
The man was stopped and searched, and eyewitnesses report that he was carrying knives.
He was arrested under the Terrorism Act and for possession of offensive weapons, and remains in custody. Basu also confirmed that searches were being carried out at two addresses in London following the man’s arrest.
“I would also like to thank the public for their continued help and support. No matter how hard we try it is communities that will defeat terrorism and we rely on your vigilance. Please continue to let us know of any suspicions or concerns you may have.”
– Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu
DAC Basu on Whitehall: “Man arrested yesterday remains in custody. There are two ongoing searches across #London for this investigation”
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 28, 2017
Willesden, April 27 19:00GMT
In a reportedly unrelated investigation, just before 19:00hrs on Thursday, a 21-year-old woman was shot in a property on Harlesden Road in Willesden, London.
Witnesses reported that non-uniformed officers approached the property, where CS gas was fired into the building and gunshots were heard. A video shared on Twitter appears to show the moment that the shots were fired.
The woman remains in hospital under police guard, though has not yet been formally arrested due to her serious condition.
Police arrested six other people in connection to the investigation that led to the shooting. Five of these were arrested at the residence on Harlesden Road, and a sixth at a separate address in the neighbouring county of Kent.
East London, April 28
Another arrest took place the morning of Friday. A 47-year-old woman was taken in from an address in East London on suspicion of conspiring with others to fund and support terrorism.
A Met Police statement says that this arrest is in relation to “an ongoing investigation into the funding of terrorism in Syria.”
These investigations come just weeks after 52-year-old Khalid Masood killed four people and injured more than 50 in a vehicular attack on Westminster Bridge, close to the Houses of Parliament.
Met Police emphasise that the recent incidents are believed to be unrelated.