British police said today they were investigating a suspect package outside the Bank of England in London where leaders of the world's largest nations will gather for a G20 summit this week.
A police spokesman said cordons had been put in place and roads around the area were temporarily closed. "No buildings have been evacuated," he said.
A BoE spokesman said the doors of the central bank had been locked but no other action was taken.
Police are mounting one of their most sophisticated operations ever in preparation for this week's summit meetings in the city.
Some 10,000 officers will be on duty through this week to oversee several thousand protesters and to ensure world leaders including US president Barack Obama remain safe.
"This will be one of the largest, most challenging and complicated operations we will have ever delivered," Commander Simon O'Brien of the Metropolitan Police said. The effort will be a "stretch" for police, he told reporters in London yesterday.
There's been an "unprecedented" level of protest discussion in Internet chat rooms and there may be "the return of some old faces - people we haven't seen on the London protest scene for some time," Mr O'Brien said. Even so, he said he expects most of the demonstrations to be peaceful.
Four marches will converge on the Bank of England at midday tomorrow for a protest the organisers call "Financial Fools Day". At the same time, there are plans for a blockade of the European Climate Exchange, in Bishopsgate, to protest against the market in carbon emissions and an anti-war demonstration outside the US Embassy at Grosvenor Square.
Businesses have been advised to cancel non-essential meetings, stagger staff arrivals and departures and to warn staff "not to antagonise protesters".
It was reported last week that police were suggesting bank employees not wear suits or carry bags with company logos.
There will be strictly controlled access to the area around the Excel Center, where the summit is taking place, Mr O'Brien said. The center sits on private property near London City Airport in the east of the UK capital.
There may be some road closures in the City financial district tomorrow, and three Docklands Light Railway stations near the Excel Centre will be closed on April 2nd, a Transport for London spokesman said in a telephone interview.
Several roads and a bridge in the area will also be shut, the London Borough of Newham said in a statement on its website.
Residents living near the center will have to carry two pieces of photographic identification to pass through security cordons and get to their homes, the council said. Protesters plan to start demonstrating at the Excel center from 6am on April 2nd and plan a day of action to disrupt the summit.
Agencies