Neil Sinclair stumbled on an unusual closure of Ludgate Hill recently and tells us more:

Footprints of London guides are very well used to Ludgate Hill and St Paul’s Churchyard being closed.

Repairs or replacement of gas and water mains, cycle races, the annual Lord Mayor’s Show and services attended by senior members of the Royal Family have all caused temporary closure of this key route into and out of the Square Mile.

But rarely if ever before has the highway been blocked by deliberately placed rubble and wrecked vehicles, including an overturned black cab.

Closure of Ludgate Hill and St Paul’s Churchyard last Friday evening and Saturday (3rd/4th August) was all part of filming the a new action movie from the Men in Black franchise.

Described on several movie information websites as a spin-off from the original films starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, it will reportedly feature new lead actors including Chris Hemsworth, Rebecca Ferguson as well as Emma Thompson reprising her previous Men in Black role as Agent 0.

The City of London, of course, is frequently used as a location for popular films, with action dramas like Mission Impossible and James Bond among those to capture some of the square mile’s iconic buildings and streets as a backdrop.