Sadiq Khan has encouraged people not to travel to Oxford Street to take part in a social media craze that he has described as “nonsense”.
The Metropolitan police has said there will be a heightened police presence in the central London area after speculation about an event on Wednesday afternoon advertised on TikTok.
The force said it is aware of online speculation “about opportunities to commit crime around Oxford Street”.
A dispersal order has been put in place from 11am on Tuesday to 10am on Thursday, giving police officers the power to exclude people from the area for 48 hours. Anyone who does not comply can be arrested.
The London mayor told the PA news agency: “I am worried about this nonsense we have seen on TikTok encouraging people to go to Oxford Street.
“The police understand why some people may be tempted to go to that part of London because of the TikTok. I’d encourage anybody who’s seen it not to go to Oxford Street. Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be a high crime area.
“It won’t be [a high crime area] because the police work incredibly hard with the local community, with the retailers in that part of London, and with those citizens who want to have a good day out on Oxford Street tomorrow rather than being worried about that sort of nonsense.”
The Met said there will be a significant number of officers in the area over the next 24 hours and anyone committing a crime should expect to be dealt with robustly.
A police spokesperson said: “If you see or hear anything suspicious in relation to this activity, contact us on 999 in an emergency or 101 if it is a non-emergency.”
