UK ‘Ready To Deal’ With Coronation Threats After Man Arrested
UK security services are “ready to deal” with the challenges presented by the coronation, the government said Wednesday, after the arrest of a man suspected of throwing shotgun cartridges into the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
Police arrested the man, who was allegedly armed with a knife, at about 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Tuesday, causing concern just days before King Charles III’s coronation, which will be attended by global royalty and world leaders.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat sought to reassure the public on Wednesday, telling Times Radio that police were “all over” the challenges presented by the historic event.
“Our intelligence and other security forces are extremely aware of the challenges that we face and ready to deal with them as the police did quite brilliantly yesterday,” he said.
The Metropolitan Police said officers conducted a controlled explosion on a suspicious bag the arrested man was carrying “as a precaution”.
It later added that it was not treating the matter as terrorism-related.
The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon after he was searched and a knife was found, the London force said.
“Officers worked immediately to detain the man and he has been taken into police custody,” Met Police chief superintendent Joseph McDonald said in a statement.
“There have been no reports of any shots fired, or any injuries to officers or members of the public.”
