Westminster Bridge was placed under lockdown on Thursday morning after police discovered a suspicious package. Bomb disposal squads carried out a controlled explosion on the busy thoroughfare after the alarm was raised at around 7.30am.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they received reports of the suspicious item and immediately deployed army disposal units to the scene. Traffic ground to a halt as officers cordoned off an area between Jewel Tower and Millbank House, with passersby quickly evacuated from surrounding streets.
Members of the public were allowed back into College Green park at around 8.15am—almost an hour after the alert was raised. Following the controlled explosion, the package was found to be non-threatening. According to Sky News, the package had contained Christmas cards from a Labour minister.
The incident comes after similar scenes last month, when bomb disposal teams were called to Stockport railway station following the discovery of a suspicious suitcase on a footbridge. Police, fire crews and paramedics established a 200-metre cordon, causing travel chaos, and the station was fully evacuated with all trains in and out cancelled.
