Scotland Yard has described events on Thursday (April 27) which saw an armed man arrested near Downing Street in Whitehall and a woman shot by police in Willesden as an “extraordinary day in London”.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, confirmed the operations were not connected as he spoke on the steps of New Scotland Yard on Friday (April 28).
He paid tribute to his force in the wake of the Westminster terror attack, and the assistance and support of the public, before calling on communities to come together to defeat terrorism.
His comments come after a dramatic day which saw two high profile operations.
The first occurred in the heart of the capital, on Parliament Street at 2.22pm, when a 27-year-old man was stopped and searched by Specialist Firearms Command as part of an ongoing counter terrorism investigation.
Mr Basu said: “He remains in our custody having been arrested for Terrorism Act Offences and possession of offensive weapons and there are two ongoing searches at addresses in London as part of that investigation.”
The second and unrelated investigation saw specialist armed police storm a property in Harlesden Road, Willesden, shortly before 7pm, firing CS spray into the house.
Mr Basu said the premises had been “under observation as part of a current Counter Terrorism investigation” and continued: “During the course of that operation one of the subjects of that operation - a woman - was shot by police - she remains in hospital.
“Her condition is serious but stable. Because of her condition she has not yet been arrested. We are monitoring her condition closely.
“In total six people have now been arrested in connection with that investigation - five at or near the address and one in Kent.
“The two further arrests were made when a man and a woman - both aged 28 - returned to the address later last night.
“Searches are ongoing at three London addresses - including Harlesden Road - as part of this investigation.”
He said: “Due to these arrests that we have made, I believe that we have contained the threats that they posed.”
He went on to praise the work of police up and down the country: “With the attack in Westminster on 22 March so fresh in people’s minds, I would like to reassure everyone that across the country officers are working round the clock to identify those people who intend to commit acts of terror.
“After that attack, we increased the number of officers on duty patrolling at key locations - and that continues as we police against the backdrop of a severe terrorist threat.
“There are constant acts of immense bravery by officers - armed and unarmed - those that the public see when our officers run towards danger, just like yesterday, but a huge amount of unseen work that the public will never know about from us and our brilliant security services.
“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. No call is ever a waste of our time and every call is treated seriously and confidentially and investigated.
“We will continue to work with all communities to defeat terrorists together - we will not allow common criminals to spread discord and fear.
“And lastly can I thank the public for their bravery and help; for remaining calm and tolerant and being a fantastic advert worldwide for democracy, diversity and freedom."
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!
