A man has been shot dead in an incident with armed police officers in Kensington on Saturday afternoon.

       The Metropolitan Police said that they responded to reports of a man with a firearm entering a bank and bookmakers near Marloes Road in West London just after 3pm.

       The man, who has yet to be identified, was seen to have left the scene in a vehicle, before being stopped by armed officers 15 minutes later near Kensington Palace.

       The force said that shots were fired and the man sustained gunshot wounds, and was pronounced dead at 16:08.

       The London Ambulance Service and London Air Ambulance were called and the man was treated at the scene, but did not survive, despite the best efforts of emergency services.

       The Metropolitan Police said that “Efforts are under way to confirm the man’s identity and to inform his next of kin.”

       The Met's Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and the incident has been referred to the policing watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

       The force was not able to comment on whether the man fired a weapon during the incident with police, adding that the circumstances around the shooting would be investigated by the IOPC.

       A number of road closures are in place in the local area and are likely to remain in place for some time, with police advising the public to avoid the area.

       The incident is not being treated as terrorism.

       A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said crews were called at 3.23pm to reports of a shooting.

       "We sent an ambulance, an incident response officer, a tactical response unit, a motorcycle response unit and an advanced paramedic. The London Air Ambulance car also responded," they said.

       "We treated a man on scene, who unfortunately died."

       One witness, Katie Roberton, 40, who was with her son visiting the palace said she heard three bangs.

       She told The London Evening Standard: “We heard these shots and I said to my boy ‘My god that sounds like gunshots’. “I stopped in my tracks and so did another woman ahead of me, then we saw people running.

       “It was really scary. I was with my son, so I had to stay calm for him.”