Home Office stabbing: Terror not ruled out as motive of attack

A man in his 60s has been injured in a stabbing outside the Home Office building in London.

Metropolitan Police officers were called to the scene in Marsham Street shortly after 1pm, following a report of a man with a knife.

Upon arrival, a man was found with knife injuries and he was taken to hospital for treatment.

His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and possession of CS spray. He has been taken to a central London police station where he remains in custody.

Scotland Yard said enquiries were continuing to establish the circumstances of the incident, and has not ruled out terrorism as a motive.

Eyewitness Guy Ellis, 54, described seeing a man remove a “long” knife from his bag before the incident.

He said: “I was sat outside the Home Office… and on the other side of the entrance I just saw a bloke take a knife out of his bag, and just wander up the path, and stop in front of two girls who were just sat there having a chat”.

Mr Ellis said the man “then he wandered back and turned round and crossed the road very calmly and merged into the crowd”.

Another eyewitness Gareth Milner, who was eating his lunch close to the Home Office at the time of the incident, said he saw “a number of armed police officers” arrive and enter the building.

He added: “Some time later a gentleman with quite a bloodied face and with dressing pressed into his face was escorted out by the Home Office by paramedics.

“He was quiet and walking on his feet, not being physically supported.”

Another eyewitness, a barista working opposite the Home Office, said she saw a man “full of blood” walking from the building.

“He had just trousers, nothing on top,” she said. “He was full of blood. He was escorted by police and paramedics.”

An image posted online appeared to show a bloodied, topless man being helped by a police officer and a paramedic.

An office worker opposite the Home Office said they believed they saw the perpetrator “calmly” walking away after the incident.

They said: “He was standing over there outside the Home Office and then he was putting something away in his bag, but I didn’t see a knife or anything.

“He was putting something away and then he just calmly just walked off down the road as if nothing had happened.

“Then people were being asked to go into the Home Office, they were being ushered in.”

The London Ambulance Service said in a brief statement that it had responded to the incident alongside the Met.

It added: “We dispatched an incident response officer, a medic in a response car, a motorcycle paramedic and an ambulance crew.

“We treated a man at the scene and took him to a major trauma centre.”

In a tweet, Home Secretary Priti Patel said her thoughts were with the victim and his family following the “horrific, unprovoked knife attack”.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said in a statement: “This is a deeply concerning incident and our thoughts are with him and his family.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

A cordon is currently in place around the scene, with two police cars outside and several more parked nearby.

(c) Sky News 2019: Home Office stabbing: Terror not ruled out as motive of attack