A man threatened to blow himself up in a shop near Oxford Circus after barricading himself into an Accessorize store this morning. He has now been arrested after a five-hour stand off with police.
The man broke into the shop on Regent Street at 00:20am, activating the alarm. When police arrived on the scene the man held up a sign saying he had a nail bomb and would detonate it.
For safety, police cordoned off several streets in central London including Regent Street, parts of Oxford Street and Piccadilly Circus.
After a five-hour siege the man gave himself up at 05:15. Witnesses reported seeing him leave the shop with his arms in the air. He was then made to strip naked in the street before being arrested and taken away by armed police.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Police were called to a commercial premises in Regent Street following an alarm activation.
“On arrival officers saw a man inside the building purporting to have an explosive device.
“Officers surrounded the building and cleared the area while attempts were made to make contact with the man.”
It is not yet known if the man had explosives on him.
Police cordons in central London remained in place during rush hour this morning, so if your commute was disrupted that’s probably why.
