Closure of Blackfriars Road disrupted travel on Saturday as men held on suspicion of theft of motor vehicle

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Police stopped a stolen Belgian registered car and arrested three men, sparking a major security alert in central London on Saturday afternoon.

Roads were closed and the area around Blackfriars Road evacuated as armed police, with helicopters, ambulances and a fire engine attended the scene.

London SE1 (@se1) Armed police in Blackfriars Road pic.twitter.com/WC2Yh8JVkU

Local residents, restaurant staff and their customers were warned to “stay away from the windows” by police as they closed Blackfriars Road, St Georges’s Circus and surrounding streets to pedestrians and traffic.

London SE1 (@se1) Buses at a standstill in London Road due to alert in Blackfriars Road pic.twitter.com/DqfVEPHXXg

One witness to the police operation took to Twitter to say the silver BMW car had a Belgian number plate.

Later a Metropolitan police spokesman said the roads had been reopened within an hour.

“At 13.44 hours on Saturday, 21 November, officers stopped a vehicle on Blackfriars Road at the junction with St George’s Circus.

“The occupants of the vehicle – three men – were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. They currently remain in custody at a south London police station.”

TFL tweeted: “The incident on Blackfriars Rd & Waterloo Rd, SE1 has now cleared. All buses affected back to normal line of route.”

The police action came as Brussels remained in lockdown on Saturday, with its metro system, shopping centres and public buildings all closed for the weekend.

The city was put on the highest security alert following the face of a “serious and imminent” threat following the terror attacks in Paris last Friday night, which have left 130 people dead.

The attacks were planned in Brussels, with several heavily armed terrorists travelling from the Belgian capital to France to carry out the series of assaults.