Whitehall has been shut down after a ‘serious’ gas leak was discovered in the area, which contains several key government buildings.
Thousands of protesters were expected to pack the streets along to nearby Downing Street for a third day of demonstrations over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but will be herded elsewhere over safety fears.
‘Alternative arrangements’ are currently being planned but the area will remain coroned off ‘for some time’, the Metropolitan Police said.
In a statement, the force wrote: ‘Whitehall has been closed due to a serious gas leak, and is likely to remain closed for some time.
‘We are in the process of making alternative arrangements for planned protests in the area today.
‘If you are attending, please follow the instructions of police officers. Thank you.’
Protests have erupted around the world, including in many Russian cities, amid a spiralling number of casualties from the all-out invasion.
On Saturday, demonstrators threw eggs at the Russian embassy in west London and covered a wall with Ukrainian flags and messages of support for Ukraine.
An estimated 4,000 people gathered in Whitehall and outside Downing Street on Friday calling for the British government to ‘step up’ against Vladimir Putin’s regime, with more returning on Saturday.
The government unleashed a raft of sanctions in retaliation for the invasion but is under pressure to hit Putin’s funding network with tougher measures.
Boris Johnson last week announced a ‘kleptocracy cell’ in the National Crime Agency which would target sanctions evasion and concealed assets in the UK, leaving Russian oligarchs ‘nowhere to hide’ in London.
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But several Russian billionaires who have been sanctioned by the US or the EU remain untouched by the UK’s measures.
Ministers have since vowed to fast-track new reforms strengthening so-called unexplained wealth orders, which can be used to confiscate ‘dirty money’ fed into the UK financial system.
Police have seized hundreds of millions of pounds in illicit assets using the measures in the past, but many orders have had to be diluted due to legal challenges.
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Protesters planning to resume their efforts on Sunday took to social media to vent their frustration at having to go elsewhere.
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