Armed police are dealing with a major incident on Scotland's busiest shopping street.
Dozens of officers, some with riot shields and dogs, converged on the Town House building at Buchanan Street in Glasgow city centre shortly after 4.15pm.
Staff were evacuated from the Amarone restaurant in Nelson Mandela Place. An alarm went off at around the time police were called.
Strathclyde Police refused to confirm speculation on social media sites that a siege-type incident was taking place.
A spokeswoman would only say: "We can confirm there is an on-going incident."
Early reports suggested there had been an armed robbery at the historic Town House, a building in Nelson Mandela Place containing a shop and offices.
Thousands of people heading home from work and shoppers were being held back by a police cordon around the area. Buchanan Street subway station was closed and trains weren't stopping.
Staff at shops within the cordon were escorted by police to safety.
One worker at Amarone, an Italian restaurant, said: "We haven't been told what is going on. We were in the restaurant when an alarm went off and were were told to get out.
"We've been standing around here since then watching the police come and go. There is a lot of confusion and rumours about what is going on inside there."
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