A man has been arrested after climbing a fence and getting into a yard outside the Houses of Parliament.

The man scaled the fence near the heavily guarded Carriage Gates in Parliament Square and managed to get into New Palace Yard, which is overlooked by Queen Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben.

An eyewitness told Sky News the man got over the side fence at about 3pm, then made it over another fence inside when somebody spotted him and shouted.

Police officers inside the yard quickly ran and pinned him down before handcuffing him and arresting him.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At around 3pm today, 1 December, a man was detained and arrested at Carriage Gates inside the Palace of Westminster on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site.

“The arrest is not terror related.”

New Palace Yard’s security was fortified after PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death as he stopped knife-wielding terrorist Khalid Masood from entering the Palace of Westminster in 2017.

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Extra gates were constructed to protect MPs and parliamentary workers who drive through Carriage Gates into the car park under parliament.

While members of the public can walk along the pavement outside, when a car enters police officers block people from walking while they open the gates.

People entering on foot have to go through full-height, stadium-style, turnstile gates after showing their parliamentary passes.

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