A man who was arrested after a car crashed into the gates of Downing Street has been released under police investigation but charged separately with making indecent images of children, police have said. Seth Kneller, of Crewe, was initially detained by armed officers after a crash involving a silver Kia near the prime minister’s official residence in Whitehall at 4.20pm on Thursday. The Metropolitan police said the 43-year-old was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, and had since been released under investigation but charged with the unrelated matter. Kneller appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Saturday. He was remanded in custody and will appear at Southwark crown court on 23 June. Rishi Sunak is understood to have been in Downing Street at the time the car crashed into the security gates. The prime minister, who had been due to leave No 10 anyway, departed after the crash. Counter-terrorism police were supporting officers in their inquiries but the incident was not being treated as terror related, the Met said. There were no reports of injuries as a result of the collision, according to police. Images on social media showed the car surrounded by emergency vehicles as police cordoned off the stretch of Whitehall outside Downing Street. Officers were seen searching the boot of the vehicle before a tow truck removed it from the area.