Famous gay bar Royal Vauxhall Tavern locked down amid London terror attack
A famous gay bar was placed on lockdown amid the terror attacks in London last night.
Just after 10 pm on June 3, a white van ploughed into pedestrians on London Bridge.
Shortly after crashing into a bus stop, three men exited the vehicle and stabbed people nearby. People at a cafe in close by Borough Market were also attacked by someone with a knife.
As news of the attack spread, the capital was put on high alert and The Royal Vauxhall Tavern was put on lock down. A stabbing reported close by to the popular gay venue prompted police to keep customers inside of the LGBT venue.
The club was packed with people as London Night Czar Amy Lamé was holding the long-running queer night Duckie.
People were told to remain inside of the venue from 11.45pm.
“Still shut in Vauxhall Tavern. Air con unit still dripping. Madonna’s Like A Prayer still playing. We are safe. We have gin,” wrote Rob Holley, the co-chair of RVT Future.
Metropolitan Police established that the stabbing in Vauxhall was not related to the terrorist attacks that took place in the London Bridge area.
By 1 am, people were allowed to leave the venue, who confirmed on Twitter that “everyone is fine and safe” before thanking followers for tweets of concern.
Holley added: “Like last week it’s completely unprocessable. Absolutely tragic. So grateful to all the police and RVT staff who kept us safe tonight.”
Amy Lamé said that RVT had a plan prepared in case of an incident like last night, and thanked the police and security for handling the situation so calmly.
“All venues in the area have an emergency plan in place, as soon as the news was received doors were closed and people were advised not to exit.
“This was in place for about an hour before police confirmed the incident in Vauxhall was unrelated to the London Bridge incident. The security and staff at the RVT were excellent- calm, prepared and reassuring,” Lamé said.
London Mayor Sadie Khan, who appointed Lamé as the first ever night czar condemned the attacks in a statement.
“We don’t yet know the full details, but this was a deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners and visitors to our city enjoying their Saturday night. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. There is no justification for such barbaric acts,” Khan said.
It is the third terror strike in the UK this year after a man drove a car into pedestrians on Westminister Bridge in March.
The incident comes less than two weeks after a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people.
Following the attack on the Manchester Arena, Grande announced a benefit concert “One Love Manchester” which is scheduled to happen this evening (June 4).
Grande’s agent has confirmed that the event, which will see the likes of Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry perform, will go ahead “with greater purpose”.
