A man draped in an ISIS flag holding a small child has been pictured walking past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in London on Monday.
Police confronted the man, but did not make an arrest, as members of the public, including children from the boy scouts, walked past him.
Police say that carrying the ISIS flag is not an offence.
Independent.co.uk reports:
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told The Independent: “This man was spoken to by officers, with consideration given to relevant legislation, particularly the Public Order Act, and the decision was taken by officers at the time that the man was acting within the law. He was not arrested.”
Asked whether officers were thought the flag was that of the extremist group Isis, he said it “certainly” appeared so.
The incident comes just days before the UK will mark the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings carried out by Islamic extremists, which killed 52 people on 7 July, 2005.
Shocked Twitter users reacted with disbelief.
One user called Gavin tweeted: “Why are we allowing this to happen on our streets a man walking past big ben with an ISIS flag.”
Another called the incident “absolutely shocking.”
ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING: #ISIS flag spotted near Big Ben days before 7/7 anniversary #London @metpoliceuk pic.twitter.com/cBHVqWw2cX
— Anthony Shaw (@AnthonyShaw_) July 5, 2015