A man was arrested outside the Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday night as he appeared to spark a fire outside the palace gates. Footage of the incident appeared on social media yesterday and has gone viral since then. It shows a blaze outside the gates of the palace and an individual hauled to the ground by the police. A second officer is also seen helping in the arrest of the individual who is pushed up against the front gate fence of London estate the other cop.
Watch the video:
Suspicious man starts a fire right outside of Buckingham palace, police arrived within seconds pic.twitter.com/UJjdTWhbYP
— tony (@tonythefam) December 20, 2022
My London quoted a Met Police spokesperson saying in a statement, "Shortly after 22.08hrs on Tuesday, 20 December, a 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage after a small fire was seen near the Buckingham Palace gates."
"The man has been taken into custody. The fire has been extinguished," the statement further said.
People standing near the palace said the police arrived within seconds of the fire starting. The reason behind the fire is not known.
Many cities in the UK, including London, have been witnessing protest launched by Just Stop Oil activists for the past several weeks, reported Independent. These protesters and the group's supporters slowly marched through streets in many cities and even blocked roads demanding that the government halts all new fossil fuel licences.
The group became active and organised the protests after the government gave approval for a proposed mine in Cumbria.
Some of the activists have also blocked The Mall in front of the Buckingham Palace by holding a sit-in. They have been protesting for 10 days.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world