Man detained after London siege

A man has been arrested by armed police, after a three-hour siege in central London.

Officers surrounded an office block in Tottenham Court Road. Computer equipment and furniture was seen being thrown from a fifth floor window.

There were reports that a man had burst into the office of a training company, taken hostages and was threatening to blow himself up using gas cylinders. He apparently said that he had nothing to live for.

Hundreds of people were evacuated as the drama unfolded, underground train stations were shut and buses diverted as police and other emergency services flooded into the area.

London’s Metropolitan Police said the incident was not terror-related and the man involved was understood to have a grievance against a company.

The UK capital is on high alert ahead of this summer’s Olympics and events marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

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