A man has been arrested after he tried to lift up the coffin lid of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Footage shows an unnamed man being tackled to the floor by security guards and police. He is then carried away from the resting place of the late monarch in Westminster Hall last evening.

The live stream which was displaying the Queen lying in state was paused around 10 pm yesterday (16/09) following the act.

When the stream began again, it showed that the Royal Standard flag had been moved due to the incident.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police stated: "Around 10 pm on Friday, September 16, officers from the Met's Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command detained a man in Westminster Hall following a disturbance.

"He was arrested for an offence under the Public Order Act and is currently in custody."

A witness of the incident, Tracy Holland said: "Some person decided they were going to push my [seven-year-old niece] out the way, run up to the coffin, lift up the standard and try to do, I don't know what.

"She [the niece] was grabbed out the way and the police had him [the suspect] within two seconds."

Holland added: "Terrible, absolutely terrible, so disrespectful and unbelievable - and this poor little seven-year-old child, this is her lasting memory of the Queen."

It is unknown what the suspect's intentions were.