Cheapside: Swathe of City near St Paul's and Cannon Street placed on lockdown by police over 'suspect vehicle'

A large swathe of the City was put on lockdown as police investigated a suspicious vehicle this morning.

The cordon was set up in Cheapside and Bread Street with photos from the scene showing a number of police vehicles parked outside H&M.

Police had deemed the vehicle safe by 11.30am - around one hour after they were called - and people were allowed back into their offices.

Cannon Street had also been partly closed by the incident as police with sniffer dogs descended on the area near St Paul's Cathedral.

One worker said an adjacent office building had been evacuated while he had been told to stay inside.

Sophia Morrell tweeted: "On lockdown at #cheapside...currently inside H&M with the doors locked. Anyone know why??"

James Lock wrote: "Suspect package on Cheapside, the whole road is closed off."

A spokeswoman for City of London Police said: “City of London Police can confirm that all the cordons in the Bread Street area have now been lifted.

“Inquiries are ongoing, however, the vehicle is no longer deemed to be suspicious.

“We’d like to thank everybody for their patience while we responded to this incident.”