Second World War bomb shuts UK parliament

London’s Westminster Bridge in the shadow of parliament’s Big Ben clock tower was closed on Thursday after a suspected World War II bomb was found in the River Thames, police said.

Police closed the bridge leading to the Houses of Parliament at around 5.15pm (11.15pm UAE), while Westminster underground station was evacuated at around 6:00 pm.

“Please bear with us as we deal with dredged up suspected WWII ordnance... Road closures in area for safety,” Westminster Police wrote on Twitter.
The tube station partially reopened at 6.45 pm, a Transport for London spokeswoman told AFP.

After the suspected bomb was found in the river by Victoria Embankment, police cleared the area of people and also closed Waterloo Bridge which later partially reopened.