An "active terror plot" was foiled by a police raid during which a woman was shot in north-west London last night, investigators say.

Six people were arrested during or shortly after the operation in Willesden, which was the culmination of a period of surveillance, the Metropolitan Police's deputy assistant commissioner, Neil Basu, said on Friday morning.

The woman who was shot has not been arrested due to her condition, he added.

Hours earlier, officers had tackled a man in Whitehall, a stone's throw from Downing Street, and arrested him on suspicion of plotting a terror attack.

Detectives said the two events were not related, however.

A woman in her 20s was shot during the Willesden raid and remains under police guard after being taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Mr Basu, senior national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said: “Due to these arrests that have been made yesterday, in both cases I believe that we have contained the threats that they pose.”

Pressed by reporters on whether they had foiled an active plot, he replied: “Yes.”

He said no further details about the plot could be released because it is a “live investigation” with “people under arrest” who will be interviewed by detectives.