Oxford Circus: Two men quizzed after Tube panic

Two men have been interviewed by detectives after an altercation at a central London Tube station created mass panic on Friday, police have said.

The men, aged 21 and 40, attended a police station voluntarily following an appeal, and the inquiry is continuing.

Sixteen people were treated after they were injured fleeing Oxford Circus station, following reports of gunshots being fired on a Central Line platform.

There was no evidence any weapons had been fired, police said.

Officers want to speak to anyone who was at Oxford Circus underground station at the time of the evacuation.

• Oxford Circus scare: As it happened

Shoppers were barricaded inside stores on Oxford Street and armed police were deployed after the alarm was raised during the evening rush hour.

Police initially treated the incident as potentially terrorism-related, before standing down.

The British Transport Police said it believed there had been an altercation between two men on the platform before the scare.

The Metropolitan Police said it began receiving "numerous" 999 calls reporting gunshots in Oxford Street and at Oxford Circus station at 16:38 GMT on Friday.

The first armed response vehicle was on the scene in less than a minute from receiving the first call, the force said.

Oxford Circus - where Oxford Street and Regent Street meet - was cordoned off, while shops and businesses were placed in lockdown.

In a statement, the Met Police said: "No casualties, evidence of any shots fired or any suspects were located by police."

But 16 people were injured as passengers fled from Oxford Circus station, in what witnesses said was "a stampede".

One patient was transferred to a major trauma centre for leg injuries, while eight people were taken to central London hospitals for minor injuries.

By 18:05 GMT, the police operation had been stood down.

In a statement, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised the city's emergency services for a "swift response".