London’s Regent Street evacuated over ‘bomb threat.’ What happened?

Alarm was caused in the center of London, U.K. on Wednesday, Jan. 8 when police evacuated Regent Street in Mayfair due to a supposed “bomb threat,” after which a series of controlled explosions were carried out in what is the city’s busiest shopping area.

A video went viral in the early afternoon depicting a man filming a crowd of people fleeing the scene in panic, although many in the video seemed unclear on what was actually transpiring. In the video, the man recording the incident asks for information but is met with no response until one passerby explains that a lone woman’s screaming inspired the chaos.

It soon became apparent that police had officially evacuated the area and cordoned off the typically busy thoroughfare between Conduit Street and Vigo Street. According to what a local office worker told MyLondon, he was first informed about the emerging incident at 1:10pm GMT before being made to evacuate the building eight minutes later.

A bomb disposal team subsequently arrived on the scene to enact a series of controlled explosions, in response to a suspicious vehicle that had apparently been abandoned on the street. Parked near the world-famous Hamley’s toy store, the vehicle was a black Audi A4 with smashed windows and a crumpled boot.

Witnesses told Metro that they heard one loud explosion followed by two smaller ones. “There was one very, very loud explosion. The ground was literally shaking,” recounted one eyewitness. “People were running back, then there were two smaller explosions.”

In an abundance of caution, the cordon was then extended to encompass Savile Row, Beak Street, and Burlington Street, which meant buses needed to be diverted. But what more do we know about the incident which briefly caused mayhem in Mayfair?

What was the full story behind London’s Regent Street bomb threat?

Thankfully, the so-called “bomb threat” turned out to be false alarm, as Westminster Police ultimately clarified that the evacuation of Regent Street, the cordoning of the area, and the controlled explosions were undertaken as a “precautionary measure.” Upon closer inspection, the vehicle was deemed “non-suspicious” and and the incident “has now been fully stood down.”

In addition to the above statement, counter-terrorism sources have stressed that the incident appears to be in no way terror-related (via Guardian). All in all, authorities acted swiftly to ascertain the truth of the situation, as Hamley’s and other local stores were able to reopen their doors as soon as 2:45pm, around 90 minutes after the incident kicked off.

Despite the high-tension of the moment as it initially appeared, it’s entirely possible that the source of the scare was nothing but someone illegally parking their vehicle. Unsurprisingly, social media had a field day with the comedic twist to what promised to be a dramatic day for London.

“Imagine parking up, having a quick scout around Regent Street for a traffic warden – seeing all clear and running into shop,” one wrote. “Instead of returning to a parking ticket, your car’s been blown up – with a ‘Soz about that’ from police.”

It’s unknown if the non-suspicious vehicle belonged to Michael Caine at this time.

“Phew, busy day at work finished,” quipped another. “Now time to return to my non-suspicious car which I parked in the vicinity of Regent Street and New Burlington.”

A similar incident to this only just occurred in November, with police carrying out a controlled explosion of a suspicious package left at London’s Euston train station. Similarly, that incident was not deemed to be terror-related.