England & Wales Law Society's HQ hit by fire

The Chancery Lane headquarters of the Law Society of England & Wales are closed today following a serious fire at the weekend.

Twenty five fire engines and 150 firefighters took 11 hours to control the blaze, which broke out late on Saturday evening. No injuries were reported, but the roof of the historic six storey building was destroyed, while damage reached down as far as the third floor. However assets such as the library, reading room and common room appear to have been undamaged.

Attendees at a Junior Lawyers Division dinner were safely evacuated, and 11 residents of neighbouring flats had to leave their homes as a precaution.

Society chief executive Paul Tennant commented in a statement: "First of all I want to express my gratitude to the fire service and my relief that nobody has been hurt. I also want to express my sympathy to the residents in the Chancery Lane area whom I understand may have had to evacuate their homes.

"It is too early to comment on the cause of the fire or the extent of the damage but clearly we are extremely upset that this has happened to this wonderful and historic building.

"When the fire alarm sounded on Saturday night an event had been taking place. An evacuation ensued and I'd like to praise our on-site staff and others for their calm response. We will release more information as it emerges in due course."