A controlled explosion has been conducted outside 30 St Mary Axe (the Gherkin) in London’s insurance district, The Guardian reports.

The area was evacuated as office workers shared pictures and videos (below) on social media of a bomb disposal robot investigating a silver Ford Focus parked in the street.

Road closures have now been lifted and the driver has been arrested for possession of false identity documents.

City of London Police have said that officers attended the scene after an 11:32am report of a suspicious vehicle outside the building, but have not confirmed that the explosion took place.

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.

Topics