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A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after a stabbing near the British Museum in central London, Scotland Yard has said.

Officers said a man was being treated for a stab wound to his arm and his condition was being assessed after the incident at the junction of Great Russell Street and Museum Street at about 10am on Tuesday.

“This was an isolated incident and there is no outstanding risk to the public,” the Metropolitan police said. “It is not being treated as terror-related.”

An area was cordoned off while officers investigated and police said they expected it to remain in place for much of Tuesday. A police tent was erected on the pavement on the museum side of Great Russell Street, just metres from the entrance.

The London ambulance service said its medics treated the man at the scene for his injury “before taking him to a major trauma centre as a priority”.

A 27-year-old woman from New York said she was about to enter the queue at the museum when police told her to leave because someone had been stabbed.

She told PA Media: “I was standing across the street at the Starbucks walking out to get into the line. We decided it was a good time to go, then we walked out and a cop directly in front of us told us we needed to leave and that the crime scene was large.

“I heard that someone was stabbed and the ambulance was parked inside near the grass area and then rushed down the street, right by me, with police following behind. A cop told me the museum is completely closed until tomorrow.”

The museum is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, receiving about 2 million visitors between April 2021 and March 2022.