"At 11:10 hrs [10:00 GMT] on Friday, 16 June, a man was detained near to the Palace of Westminster. The man — aged in his 30s — was arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife. There are no reports of any injuries," the police said in a statement.
Earlire in the day, the Metro newspaper reported that a man had been detained by armed police at the gates of the House of Commons. The parliament had reportedly been put into lockdown.
According to the statement, the detainee had been sent to a central London police station.
In recent months, the United Kingdom has been hit by a wave of deadly attacks, including the March incident when a man drove his car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before attempting to enter the Parliament grounds.
The most recent attack was carried out on June 3, when three men drove a vehicle into pedestrians on London Bridge before continuing in the direction of Borough Market. The men then left the vehicle and attacked several people with knives. The attack left eight people killed and 48 more injured. The attackers were shot by police on the scene within minutes.