"Officers quickly detained a man at around 19:00hrs on Tuesday, 2 May after he approached the gates of Buckingham Palace SW1 and threw a number of items - suspected to be shotgun cartridges - into the Palace grounds," read a statement issued by the police.

"These have been recovered and will be taken for specialist examination,"

The man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon after he was searched and a knife was found.

" He was not in possession of a firearm," the police said.

Cordons were in place after the man was also found to be in possession of a suspicious bag.

Specialists attended and following an assessment a controlled explosion was conducted as a precaution.

The cordons were later removed.

Chief Superintendent Joseph McDonald, said: "Officers worked immediately to detain the man and he has been taken into police custody."

“There have been no reports of any shots fired, or any injuries to officers or members of the public," he said.

“Officers remain at the scene and further enquiries are ongoing," he said.

At this time we are not treating the matter as terror-related.