Buckingham Palace: Man arrested after handcuffing himself to gates

The Metropolitan Police said when officers approached the man he threatened "to harm himself"

A man who handcuffed himself to the gates outside Buckingham Palace in central London has been arrested.

The man approached the gates at about 17:30 BST on Thursday and handcuffed himself to them before threatening "to harm himself", police said.

He was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon at about 01:00 on Friday.

"He was taken to a south London hospital to be assessed before being taken into custody," the Met said.

A large cordon which was in place while officers were at the scene has been removed.

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