LONDON – Police evacuated crowds on Saturday morning and cordoned off Trafalgar Square in central London after responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle that shook the British capital on the third day of Queen Elizabeth’s platinum anniversary celebrations.
the metropolitan police said on Twitter that the incident, first reported at 9:22 a.m., was not related to terrorism, although they did not specify how they came to that conclusion, and said they would reopen the plaza. A photo from the Reuters news agency shows a vehicle being removed from the back of a police car.
“This has been investigated and after the police took action, we have no further concerns,” the police tweeted† “This was not terrorism related.”
Trafalgar Square is on the opposite side of the Mall from Buckingham Palace, which has a huge concert planned for Saturday night as part of the anniversary festivities.
Central London is flooded with visitors from elsewhere in Britain and around the world for a four-day celebration of the Queen’s 70th anniversary on the throne. About 20,000 people have tickets to the concert in the square in front of the palace with performances by Diana Ross, Duran Duran and others, as well as speeches by Prince Charles and his eldest son, Prince William.