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Police today attacked a London hospital and shut down Westminster Bridge after an unarmed man ‘threatened’ inside the building.
Armed police rushed to St Thomas’ Hospital near Waterloo and blocked nearby roads in both directions on Tuesday in response to a ‘security alert’.
Witnesses claimed that ‘all staff, wards and apartments’ within St Thomas’ were’ locked up ‘at the site, which is near the Palace of Westminster.
However, the Metropolitan Police have since confirmed that the alert was “withdrawn.” Officials added that the incident “was not treated as terrorism.”
Scotland Yard spoke to a man inside the hospital, but no arrests were made.
Police pounced on St Thomas Hospital in London and shut down Westminster Bridge after an unarmed man ‘threatened’ inside the building. In the photo: the current scene
Armed police rushed to St Thomas’ hospital near Waterloo and blocked the busy road in both directions in response to a “security alert.” In the photo: Armed police on the outskirts of St Thomas
An internal hospital memo seen by MailOnline confirmed that the main entrance and the Lambeth wing entrance were closed amid the ‘security incident’ at St Thomas’.
The note read: “There is an ongoing security incident at St Thomas Hospital, as you may know.
At this time, the main entrance and the entrance to the Lambeth Wing have been closed.
Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Palace Road were closed in both directions when police responded to the ‘security alert’, but the cordon has since been lifted.
Witnesses said they were prevented from accessing the busy hospital, which is located next to Westminster Bridge on the south bank of the River Thames.
Joe Sheffer said: “The incident at the St. Thomas hospital appears to be in the south wing, according to hospital staff.”
He added: “No one seems to be clear about what is happening.”
Witnesses claimed that ‘all staff, wards and apartments’ within St Thomas’ were’ locked up ‘at the site, which is near the Palace of Westminster
Armed police rushed to St Thomas Hospital near Waterloo today and have blocked the Thames River crossing in both directions.
An internal hospital memo seen by MailOnline confirmed that the main entrance and the Lambeth wing entrance were closed amid the ‘security incident’ at St Thomas’. In the photo: the police cordon
The alert was a false alarm, the Metropolitan Police confirmed since then. In the photo: Police on the scene.
James Miller, 32, of London, told MailOnline that he was asked to wait on the street when trying to enter St. Thomas’ when police responded to the ‘security alert’.
“ I went out to smoke and when I was trying to go back they blocked me from the security agents who said there was an incident, ” he said.
“I spoke to a guy who had just come out and he told me that there was a fight between two men inside and a man had threatened to blow up the hospital.
“ It seemed crazy to me, but within minutes there were so many emergency service vehicles here that they must have taken it seriously. I was starting to worry. ‘
Miller said he saw about 30 armed police officers attend the scene, along with a bomb disposal team and fire trucks.
He added: ‘It was scary to see all that happening, especially since then they told us to move to the end of the street and they put shoelaces.
‘He was visiting a friend so he was worried about the stress it might have caused him. I have no idea what they were told inside.
Scotland Yard spoke to a man inside the hospital, but no arrests were made. In the photo: the current scene
The London Ambulance Service was present, but confirmed that paramedics ‘did not treat any patients’
Others reported seeing “ten armed policemen” running in.
“My girlfriend just got out of a date there and she said she saw ten armed police officers running in as she was leaving,” said one man.
There were suggestions that the ‘security alert’ could have been a bomb threat, and a witness told the Sun: ‘I heard it was a bomb threat and the hospital was closed.
“ It seemed to end very quickly, but for a while it seemed like a life and death situation. ”
Those on the scene added that a bomb disposal team attended, but the Metropolitan Police declined to confirm if this was the case.
In a statement, Lambeth police said: ‘Police were called at 9.18am to St Thomas Hospital’ following a report of threats made by a man. No weapons were seen.
Subsequently, officers located and spoke with a man inside the hospital. The incident stopped at approximately 10:30 am.
‘There have been no arrests. This was not treated as an incident of terrorism ”.
At 10:07 am, the Met tweeted: Police are dealing with a security alert at St Thomas Hospital, SE1. We will provide more information when we know. ‘
About 30 minutes later, the force added: ‘The security alert at St Thomas Hospital’ will be withdrawn. We are in the process of removing the laces. ‘
The London Ambulance Service was present, but confirmed that paramedics “did not treat any patients.”
