An armed intruder was arrested this evening, after he entered the studios of the Dutch national broadcaster and demanded airtime, according to its director.

An reporter for NOS who spoke to the gunman said he had claimed to be from a "hackers collective".

Police quickly surrounded the NOS studios building, and those inside were evacuated from the premises in the central Dutch town of Hilversum, 20km (12miles) east of Amsterdam, the RTL press agency reported.

The broadcaster later reported on its website that the man had a pistol with a silencer and threatened a security guard, forcing him to take him upstairs to the editorial offices.

An NOS1 broadcast at 8pm local time (7pm GMT) displayed a message reading "In connection with circumstances, no broadcast is available at this time".

The channel was off air for just over an our, and showed a screen reading: "Please be patient" in Dutch, and the broadcaster said on its website that police were searching the building.

When the channel resumed programming, it played recorded images of the man in a studio calmly talking to another man off screen, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and black tie.

Speaking to a man off camera, the intruder said, "We have been hired by intelligence agencies. We have heard of issues that challenge today's society. We are going to tell everyone."

Shortly after, police arrived and ordered the man to drop the weapon and put his hands in the air. Four or five police officers then ordered him to lie down, which he did and he was arrested without a struggle.

Jan de Jong, director of the NOS, told national radio: "Someone got into the building" and added that the man had been taken into custody.

De Jong said it was unclear how the man got through tight security in the building and into the editorial offices.

There were no reports of any shots being fired in the building. Further details were not immediately available.

Police did not immediately return calls from the Associated Press seeking comment, and calls to NOS offices in Hilversum went unanswered Thursday night.

Belfast Telegraph