Suspicious vehicle spotted near BBC Broadcasting House blown up in controlled explosion

Journalists told to move away from windows as police prepared for detonation

Police have carried out a controlled explosion on a suspicious car outside the BBC's Broadcasting House in central London.

Officers were called to reports of a suspicious vehicle on Portland Place around 10.40am on Thursday.

Pictures on social media showed a bomb disposal robot investigating the blue Rover.

BBC journalists said they had been told to move away from windows facing towards the street where the car had been left.

Others said police told them they were preparing for a controlled explosion.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Police were called at approximately 10:38hrs on Thursday, 28 June to reports of a suspicious vehicle on Goodge Street, W1

“Officers are on scene and cordons are in place while the incident is dealt with.”

They later said they had carried out a "small controlled explosion as a precaution" and the situation "has now been stood down and deemed non-suspicious."

The officers near Broadcasting House were evacuated amid a similar bomb scare in December 2015.

The suspicious vehicle was later found to be non-suspicious.

Police in London remain alert after a series of terror attacks in the capital last year.