Portcullis House evacuated after 'suspicious package' discovered in Houses of Parliament

Metropolitan police were unable to confirm any further details surrounding the evacuation

A general view of the Houses of Parliament on July 6, 2009 in London, England. (Getty)

Portcullis House in the Houses of Parliament has been evacuated after a “suspicious package” was found, triggering a security alert.

However, following an investigation a Met police spokesperson confirmed to The Independent that although an evacuation of part of the British parliament had taken place as a result of a “suspicious package”, the package had later been confirmed as "non-suspicious" and the security alert had been "stepped down".

ITV News reported seeing a large police presence outside the building.

Bridge St, Westminster Bridge and Victoria Embankment to Northumberland Avenue were all closed to traffic as a result, but have now reopened as of 10.30am.

Portcullis House is a block of offices opposite the Houses of Parliament. It sits above Westminster station, which remains closed.

The security level was raised in August to the second-highest level due to risks posed by Isis fighters returning to Britain.

Last month Canadian reservist soldier Nathan Cirillo was killed by Islamic convert 32-year-old Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who had been identified by the Canadian government as 'high risk', in the Ottawa parliament.