Whitehall lockdown as ‘suspicious automobile’ found close to Downing Street

No.10 Downing Street was put into a lockdown this afternoon, just moments after Rachel Reeves’ spending review.

A “suspicious vehicle” caused concern outside of the Prime Ministers office, with government officials said to have been moved into one room during the emergency measures. According to reports, this took place which officials were working on the pay review. City of Westminster Police quickly closed off Parliament Street with a cordon starting at the entrance to Westminster Underground Station.

As an extra precautionary measure, four police vans also blocked the route to the official residence of Sir Keir Starmer.

However, speaking later, police say another incident occurred around the area, which prompted the closing off.

A spokesperson for the force said: “A cordon is in place at the southern end of Whitehall as a precautionary measure while officers investigate an suspicious vehicle in the vicinity of Downing Street.

“It is not linked to a separate road traffic collision involving a coach and a pedestrian in nearby Abingdon Street.”

Before reports of the suspicious vehicle, a serious collision took place at Abingdon Street, which involved a bus and a pedestrian. Emergency services were on the scene responding to calls.

Reports said a person was trapped underneath a bus. This happened near Abingdon Street Gardens, which is next to Westminster Abbey, as well as key government buildings.

At 12pm, the air ambulance was also called out to the scene. Back at Westminster, it is believed civil servants working inside government buildings on Whitehall are unable to leave and enter, reports The Independent.

Each incident has left three London buses on diversion, six in total. Incident affects the following routes: 3, 87, and C10. Incident two has impacted routes: 12, 24 and 26.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 1.29pm today (June 11) to reports of a road traffic collision on Dean’s Yard, Westminster. We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, paramedics in fast response cars, an incident response officer and a clinical team manager. We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.

“We treated a man for a head injury and took him to a major trauma centre by road.”

Both incidents have ground traffic to a halt in the area, and where traffic is flowing it’s very slow. Officials have advised that drivers should only head through if absolutely necessary.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.