Driver 'livid' after police blew up his broken down taxi in terror scare near the Gherkin
Controlled blast: The taxi at the scene in the City today Picture: Chiara Whitbread
A black cab driver was today said to be “livid” after police blew up his broken-down taxi following a terror scare in the shadow of the Gherkin.
The driver apparently said he had been forced to leave the silver Hackney cab on a rank in the City after a breakdown at the weekend.
But when he went to retrieve it yesterday morning, he discovered it had been blown up by anti-terror police.
The blast shattered the cab’s rear window and damaged its back end, as well as smashing the windows of a nearby pub.
Buildings were evacuated and roads around Camomile Street and Bishopsgate closed as traffic slowed to a standstill in the heart of the Square Mile.
The driver of the cab later claimed he had broken down on Friday evening and was forced to ditch the vehicle over the weekend.
A man in his twenties who works nearby said: “The police were looking at the vehicle at about 5.30am and were shining torches through the window.
“There was an electronic device that had lights flashing on it and the police evacuated the area at about 6.50am and blew it up an hour later.”
The car was parked a few feet from the Slug and Lettuce bar, where staff claimed shrapnel from the explosion caused thousands of pounds in damage and lost trade.
A witness told the Standard that when the driver returned to his car and found it at the centre of a terror scare he told police: “You’re wasting your time.”
The worker added: “He was very angry and told two PCSOs he was going to sue the police. He had the car towed to a garage and went with it. He was livid.
“The car was parked in the taxi rank but on double yellow lines. It was suspicious because it was parked so close to a high profile building.”
Thousands of workers and commuters were evacuated in a second scare last night outside London Bridge bus station.
The bus station, as well as The Shard and News UK’s headquarters in the ‘baby Shard’ were evacuated.
Met Police were called to a lot at 3.15pm after Network Rail workers spotted the black cab apparently abandoned near the bus station.
However, the car was not blown up as the owner was able to return in time.
A station source said: “The man came back and said he had to dump the car there because one of his family members was taken ill.”
source: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/d ... 09597.html
