UK police probe 'discarded items' near Israeli embassy

Police in London say they are investigating an incident near the Israeli embassy involving "a number of discarded items".

The Metropolitan Police said the embassy was not attacked but that its officers, including some in protective clothing, were combing the area around the plush neighbourhood of Kensington Gardens.

A cordon was set up and access to the gardens and the surrounding area was restricted.

Police vans and a white tent can be seen at scene.

"We do not believe there to be any increased public safety risk at this stage, but we would urge people to avoid the area while officers carry out their work," a police spokesman said.

"A suspected security incident is being investigated in the park adjacent to the Embassy of Israel in London," the embassy said in a statement.

"We wish to clarify that all embassy staff are safe and that the embassy was not attacked."

The police also said detectives were investigating whether the unidentified items found near the embassy are linked to a video posted online claiming it was going to be attacked with drones carrying dangerous substances.

It said Counter Terrorism Policing London are aware of the video.

A video, which appears to have been shared by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, shows a target over an image of the Israeli embassy and people dressed in hazmat suits flying drones.

The group, which translates as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, allegedly posted the video on Telegram last month, showing a map of the location in north London where four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity were set on fire and footage of them ablaze.

Israel's government has described it as a recently founded group with suspected links to "an Iranian proxy" that has also claimed responsibility for synagogue attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Kensington Palace, where the Prince and Princess of Wales used to have their main home, is located on the western edge of Kensington Gardens.

Staff from the royal couple's household based at the historical site are still at work there.

The palace is about 350 metres from the bandstand where a van belonging to the Metropolitan Police's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear team was parked.

with PA