Image copyright PA

A man arrested near Downing Street last month has been charged with preparing terrorist acts, Scotland Yard says.

Khalid Mohamed Omar Ali, 27, from north London, was also charged with two counts of making or having explosives.

Those two charges, under the Explosive Substances Act, relate to alleged activity in Afghanistan in 2012.

Mr Omar Ali, who was arrested on Parliament Street on 27 April, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

Knives were recovered from the scene after his arrest, which followed a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation.

Mr Omar Ali is believed to be a UK national who was born overseas and went to school in Tottenham.