Travel delays in blast aftermath

Eurostar services have been disrupted

Parts of London are experiencing traffic chaos following the missile attack on the MI6 spy headquarters in the centre of the city.

Roads and railway lines were closed after the incident at Vauxhall Cross on Wednesday night, so police could carry out a detailed forensic search of the area on the south side of the River Thames.

Police have said they should be reopened in time for afternoon rush hour on Thursday.

Waterloo's overground railway station has been partially reopened, with trains using platforms one to 14. The underground station is also operating.

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And Eurostar services have been cancelled until approximately mid-afternoon.

The trains are terminating at Ashford International in Kent, but are subject to delays.

Passengers can use their Eurostar tickets on Connex Services to make the connection out of Waterloo East.

The Victoria Line at Vauxhall Station has been closed.

And South West Trains said an emergency timetable would operate on all of its routes, and advised passengers to delay their journeys until later in the day.

We will get things back to normal just as quickly as we can

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alan Fry

Waterloo station reopened at 1305 BST but many routes are operating only a substantially reduced service.

A London Underground spokeswoman said tickets from those trains would be accepted on Tube services.

"We will be accepting South West Trains tickets on the District Line from Wimbledon, the Northern Line from Balham and by any reasonable routes," she said.

Wales and West Trains said passengers on its Waterloo-bound services were being redirected via Paddington.

Both the underground and overground stations at Vauxhall have been closed.

London Underground said Vauxhall tube station was expected to stay closed for the rest of Thursday.

Call for patience

Vauxhall Bridge and the Vauxhall Cross road interchange was closed after the attack - shortly before 2200 BST on Wednesday - and all vehicles were forced to find alternative routes across the Thames and around the closed off streets.

One lane across the bridge has been opened for traffic travelling from south to north London.

All other roads are expected to remain closed for much of Thursday.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alan Fry, head of Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist branch, thanked the public for being patient.

"We will get things back to normal just as quickly as we can," he said.

"We hope you will appreciate the need for us to undertaking a painstaking forensic examination."