Man charged following incident near Downing Street

BRITISH police said they had charged a 29-year-old man who was armed with a knife when he confronted two ministry of defence police officers near prime minister Boris Johnson's official residence in central London on Monday (18).

Prashanth Kandaiah was charged with attempted grevious bodily harm and possession of a pointed/bladed article and will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court later on Tuesday (19), police said.

Kandaiah was arrested on Monday.

Police cordoned off Whitehall, which is home to several government departments including Johnson's 10 Downing Street office and residence, for several hours on Monday following the incident on Horse Guards Parade, but it was later reopened.

An investigation was launched following the incident at Horse Guards Parade, a ceremonial parade ground which overlooks St James's Park, police said.

"At around 08:50hrs, a 29-year-old man, who was armed with a knife, confronted two ministry of defence Police officers. Taser was deployed and the man was restrained by officers. There were no reports of any injuries," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon and remains in custody at a central London police station. The incident is not being treated as terror-related."