United kingdom Daily news: Tottenham Court Road siege suspect stripped to his waist and led away in cuffs

Tottenham Court Road siege suspect stripped to his waist and led away in cuffs

Man 'who failed HGV driving test and wanted his money back' took hostages at midday yesterday afternoon
Witnesses say he shouted: 'I have nothing left to live for' as he started siege
1,000 workers evacuated after reports man 'had gas canisters' strapped to his back
Reports of snipers on nearby roofs as negotiators 'talked to man via telephone'
Man was arrested at around 3pm as police comb building for explosives

By Eddie Wrenn and Matt Blake

PUBLISHED: 06:55 EST, 27 April 2012 | UPDATED: 19:30 EST, 27 April 2012

This is the man suspected of bringing the heart of London to a standstill yesterday by storming a building and allegedly taking four men hostage amid fears he was carrying explosives.

The man was arrested at around 3pm and was seen being led shirtless to a police van, as officers began methodically checking the building in Tottenham Court Road.

Thousands of people were evacuated at around midday after reports of a man, carrying gas canisters and a blow torch, storming the offices of an HGV firm and threatening to blow himself up.

It is believed he may have had a grievance with the firm after twice failing an HGV driving test.

Scroll down to see the arrest as it happened

Led away: Police take the shirtless man away to a police van as the Tottenham Court Road siege comes to an end

Led away: Police take the shirtless man away to a police van as the Tottenham Court Road siege finishes

The man being led away for questioning by police following the three-hour stand-off

The man being led away for questioning by police following the three-hour siege yesterday

Commander Mak Chishty, of the Metropolitan Police, said the suspect was a local man.

He confirmed that no hostages were inside the building when the man left after negotiators were sent to the scene.

The officer said police were initially concerned that the suspect had explosives or flammable materials but a search of the scene confirmed he did not have any.

The suspect remains in police custody.

The man is understood to have taken four hostages after entering the offices of the training firm.

He claimed he had twice failed HGV driving tests and wanted his money back, and apparently shouted: 'I have nothing more to live for.'

Officers, including marksmen, explosives experts and police negotiators, rushed to the scene shortly after noon.

They ordered the evacuation of at least 1,000 office workers and many more shoppers and tourists in the area.

Job done: Armed police officers on the scene where the man threaten to blow himself up

Job done: An armed police officer gives a thumbs-up as the siege comes to an end

An Armed Police officer on a rooftop at the scene of the seige

Serious situation: An armed police officer on a rooftop at the scene of the siege

An armed police officer walks through Tottenham Court Road

A heavily armed officer wearing a bulletproof vest at the scene

Heavily-armed members of Scotland Yard's firearms unit CO13, kitted out with Glocks, Tasers, stun grenades and spare ammunition, were deployed to apprehend the suspected suicide bomber.

A special forces unit based in central London was put on stand-by while the Armyâ€™s bomb disposal unit was sent towards the scene. The RAFâ€™s nuclear biological and chemical warfare group became involved because of the fear posed by the gas canister.

A senior security source said: â€˜You want the specialist chemical people on the ground to make sure they can identify whatever the substance is in case it is seriously dangerous.

â€˜Remember the Tokyo subway incidents. There is always a fear in our minds with this kind of incident of something positively catastrophic.â€™

He added: â€˜It was a very good dry-run before the Olympics and itâ€™s proved they can cope with this type of incident. It was a â€œliveâ€ rehearsal.â€™

The officers perform hugely sensitive tasks and the protection of their identity for undercover work was ensured by the use of a balaclava.

As they cordoned off the scene, the man started hurling objects - including computers and filing cabinets - which came flying from a fifth-floor window as terrified workers left the building with their hands up.

Bystanders, some of whom reported hearing shots being fired, were pushed back to Euston Road, which is about half a mile from the scene.

Snipers were also seen on nearby rooftops.

Drama: A filing cabinet flies from the fifth-floor window in the hourly hours of the siege

Pictures from the siege at Shropshire House, Tottenham Court Road: Witnesses say hostages have been taken inside the building

Pictures from the siege at Shropshire House, Tottenham Court Road: Hostages were taken inside the building

An armed officer stands by the cordon on Tottenham Court Road, as more equipment is thrown onto the street

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A man looks out of a window where debris including a filing cabinet were thrown. His identity and relation to this incident is not know

A man looks out of the window from which debris including a filing cabinet were thrown. He is believed to have been one of the hostages

Hostages leave the building at about 12.30pm yesterday afternoon

The cordon on Tottenham Court Road, where more than 1,000 workers were evacuated

Abby Baafi said she believed she was the man's target

Abby Baafi, 27, the head of training and operations at Advantage, a company which offers HGV courses, said the man had targeted her offices and was holding four men hostage. She said the man had twice failed an HGV driving course.

The hostages are believed to have included the company director and three salesmen.

She told the Huffington Post: 'We were in the office and someone came in. I recognised him because he was one of our previous customers.

'He came in with big gasoline cylinders strapped to his body and threatened to blow up the office.

'He said he doesnâ€™t care about his life, he doesnâ€™t care about anything, he just wants to blow up the office.

â€˜He was specifically looking for me but I didnâ€™t say my name was Abby and he let me go because I am three months pregnant.'

She later said the man had taken mobile phones from the hostages.

A KFC worker, Arti Pal, 23, said: 'It all kicked off at about 12.30. Police came in and told customers they could no longer order food and that they had to get out.

'About 15 minutes later the came back and told us to get out as soon as possible. All our stuff is still in there.'

It is not known how the suspect arrived at the scene, whether by vehicle or on foot. Scotland Yard were unable to go into details of whether witnesses had seen him walk to the building or whether they were looking for a vehicle possibly connected to him.

Papers are flung from the building during the incident: A filing cabinet was also thrown out

Armed officers at the scene stand by as negotiators prepare to talk to the man

Actress Frances Barber, 53, was among those ordered to stay within a building as events unfolded.

Barber, who appeared in the last series of Doctor Who, kept her followers updated on her Twitter feed.

'F*** a duck am in middle of hostage sitch in Tott Ct Road. Can't get out. We are all hostage inside,' she wrote.

She pointed out she was not detained in the office in question but in a building nearby and police would not let her leave.

'Police won't let us out. Tott Ct Rd deserted. All shops, cafes, etc evacuated. Police everywhere. We are not allowed out.'

Barber later added that she and others had been allowed out and were being 'herded' north towards Camden.

Pictures from the siege at Shropshire House, Tottenham Court Road in London

Speaking from Tottenham Court Road, Alan Edwards, who works in the building, told SkyNews rumours were that he was aggrieved because he had been denied an HGV licence.

Edwards, the manager of Outside Organisation, said: 'There was a guy chucking stuff out of the window - there seemed to be computers and some furniture and then papers.

'The police came in to our reception and told us we had to evacuate the building immediately.

'We have been getting moved further and further back by the police.

'There are all sorts of rumours going around about what is happening. We think it is some sort of recruitment or training agency.'

Sarah O'Meara, who works for the Huffington Post, said they evacuated their offices in nearby Capper Street after being alerted by a woman who ran into the building.

'A woman ran in off the street saying "There is a guy with a bomb and he is threatening to blow himself up" and that we needed to evacuate,' she said.

'Everyone got out. The police have been moving people back street by street. It is now at Grafton Way.'

Images on the social networking site Twitter showed various items being thrown from the building, including computer monitors and piles of paper.

The area around Tottenham Court Road has been almost completely cleared by police

A filing cabinet is thrown from a window during the siege

Hostages leave the building during the siege, as the road is cleared of workers, shoppers and pedestrians

Ms O'Meara said the atmosphere had been 'tragi-comic' until the police arrived and it turned serious.

'He was throwing stuff out of the windows, it looked like someone with a grievance,' she added.

'But then the police arrived and started telling everyone: "This is serious, this is for your own safety. He has got gas".'

A police cordon was in place from Store Street to the south of the incident.

Dozens of onlookers watched and took photographs with their mobile phones.

Five marked police cars and vans could be seen lining Tottenham Court Road, as well as four ambulances.

Unmarked police vehicles also drove up to the scene and three London buses were stopped in the road with their amber lights flashing.

A police negotiator was seen speaking to the officers guarding the cordon, and he was given directions to the scene.

Drama: Equipment was thrown out of the windows of the building

The siege is occurring at Shropshire House, Tottenham Court Road in London, above the Starbucks

Stephen Hull, executive editor of the Huffington Post UK website, which is based in the same building, posted on Twitter: 'Just interviewed woman who was target of attack. Man came into logistics office strapped up with 4 canisters threatening to blow himself up.

'Abby Baafi told us she told suspect she was three months pregnant to escape.

'Abby told us she'd met suspect before. He said he didn't have anything to live for and wanted to blow the place up.'

Paul Smith, 55, who works at University College London, said: 'I heard shouting and banging and then we got an email saying there was an incident occurring across the road.

'I looked the window and I saw people chucking computer screens, boxes and paper out of the window.

'Apparently this man was holding staff hostage and making them do this. I could see from their faces they didn't look happy about it.

'There are police marksman on top of our building and hostage negotiators have gone in. All we have heard is that it's a man claiming he has got a makeshift bomb strapped to his body.'

Richard Webb, 26, who works at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, said: 'I saw the SWAT team going in and four people coming out with their hands above their head.

'People were running about in the street and police were pulling motorists out of cars. Their cars are now abandoned in the street.'

VIDEO: Tottenham Court Road siege suspect led away...Â

VIDEO: Tottenham Court Road hostage recounts her story