Bomb scare in UK Parliament

Westminster Police have cordoned off an area in Whitehall after a suspicious package was reported near Parliament.

Scotland Yard said they received reports of the package at 3.01pm.

Dozens of police closed junctions while a Metropolitan Police helicopter flew overhead.

The bomb squad arrived at the scene a short time later and unloaded their tracked remote control robot to investigate the package.

Separately, a person could be seen climbing up scaffolding near the base of the Big Ben tower at parliament.