Two men questioned by UK police after panic in central London

Two men have handed themselves into police over an incident which sparked chaos at Oxford Circus tube station and caused hundreds of people to flee in panic.

Several people were injured and nine were taken to hospital, including one with leg injuries, after panic erupted in the packed station yesterday.

Armed police were deployed to the underground station and Oxford Street after receiving 999 calls reporting that shots had been fired.

British Transport Police said the incident is believed to have started when an altercation erupted between two men on the platform.

The force said two men, aged 21 and 40, attended a police station voluntarily and were interviewed, following an appeal.

Around 90 minutes after responding to the emergency calls, police said there was no evidence of any shots, casualties or suspects.

The station was reopened, cordons removed and the area returned to normal, with the Royal Variety Performance at the nearby London Palladium going ahead as planned.

The Met said in a statement: “Given the nature of the information received, the Met responded in line with our existing operation as if the incident was terrorism, including the deployment of armed officers.

“Officers working with colleagues from British Transport Police carried out an urgent search of the area. No casualties, evidence of any shots fired or any suspects were located by police.”

BBC producer Helen Bushby described the panic, saying: “I was just walking down from the BBC towards the Tube and there was a mass stampede away from the Tube as fast as they could.

“They were crying, they were screaming, they were dropping their shopping bags. It was a very panicked scene.

“People said they heard a gunshot and panic was just spreading.”

The British Journal Editors and Wire Services