Police in Birmingham in the Midlands are evacuating the city centre.

Earlier they issued a warning they had received intelligence suggesting a threat to the area.

“Our response needs to be proportionate in the action we’re taking and in informing the public,” a spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said.

Police are now closing down the Birmingham Broad street entertainment zone and asking people to go home. A statement will be released shortly.

Hopefully a false alarm, but more will undoubtably appear at BBC News.

[Edit: a controlled explosion has taken place on a bus, looks like a false alarm. I wouldn’t even dare to suggest that performing a controlled explosion on Birmingham itself now that it’s nice and empty would be advantageous to all…]