Limehouse

Apsana Begum - the independent MP for Poplar and Limehouse - described the comments as "staggering".

The watchdog added that it asked the Met and City of London Police, which also responded to the incident at Limehouse Cut, "to consider the availability and demand for dog handlers, and whether their current resourcing is adequate".

The animals were later seen near the Limehouse Tunnel before they were recaptured by City of London Police and taken away to be assessed by Army vets.

Two of the animals were finally recovered in Limehouse in east London, more than five miles from where they bolted.

Per the BBC’s incident map, the horses broke loose near Buckingham Palace, and two of them passed through the Strand and were eventually seen as far away as the Limehouse Link tunnel, a distance of some 5 miles or 8 “kilometres.”