A man has been arrested after allegedly barricading himself inside a flat in east London and threatening to burn the building down.
Scotland Yard said the man was detained on suspicion of criminal damage and intent to endanger life after a four-hour standoff at Earlsdown House in Barking.
Police negotiators were sent to the scene at 8.40pm on Tuesday, following reports a man had threatened to “blow the flat up”.
Officers later forced their way into a flat on the seventh floor of the building and detained a man at around 1.10am.
He was taken to a local hospital as a precaution in relation to a pre-existing medical condition.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told The Independent the entire 12-storey tower block had been evacuated as a precaution.
Officers began clearing residents out of the building at 10.20pm.
All residents evacuated from the building were gathered at a local community centre in Barking for the duration of the incident.
No injuries have been reported.
