Summary

  • Australian police have stormed a cafe in Sydney after a prolonged siege in which a gunman took a number of people hostage

  • Shots have been heard and several hostages have been seen running from the Lindt cafe. Police now say the siege is over

  • The gunman has been named as Man Haron Monis - a self-proclaimed cleric from Iran

  • People inside the cafe were earlier forced to hold a black flag with Arabic writing at the window. All times GMT

Live Reporting

Yaroslav Lukov, Sally Taft, Alastair Lawson, Jasmine Coleman, Amber Dawson and Thom Poole

  1. David Cameron
    British Prime Minister

    has tweeted: I was briefed overnight on the siege in Sydney. It's deeply concerning and my thoughts are with all those caught up in it.

  2. Deputy police commissioner Catherine Burn says that the five hostages who left the cafe "are now being assessed to make sure their health is okay and then police will talk to them". She would not confirm how many are left in the cafe.

  3. One of the hostages runs towards police from a cafe in the central business district of Sydney on 15 December 2014AFP
    A hostage runs to armed tactical response police officers for safety after she escaped from a cafe under siege at Martin Place in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Monday, 15 December 2014AP

    Here are images from earlier of two women who fled the cafe. They were wearing brown uniforms with the Lindt logo.

  4. New South Wales deputy police commissioner Catherine Burn told reporters she cannot confirm demands by the gunman as reported by media outlets. "We have to deal with him on the level of police negotiation. We cannot engage in speculation."

  5. If you are just joining us, the latest situation is that armed police are surrounding the cafe and officers have made contact with the gunman. Five people have been seen running from the building but it is not clear how many remain inside. A black Islamic flag has been displayed at the window.

  6. We have recently moved to a new page on the website. Please click on the original link to view updates from the past seven hours.

  7. Welcome to the BBC's live updates on the hostage situation in Sydney, Australia, where a gunman is holding staff and customers inside the Lindt cafe in the city centre.