“It is believed three people have died after being stabbed in the stairwell of a hotel,” the public broadcaster BBC said. Scottish police said the suspect had been shot.

An eyewitness told Sky News she had seen several people covered in blood being treated by emergency services, and armed police on the scene, at around 1.15pm.

Sky said there were fatalities.

“A police officer has been stabbed,” the Scottish Police Federation said.

Greater Glasgow Police said emergency services were dealing with an incident on West George Street in the centre of Glasgow.

“The situation is contained at this time and there is no danger to the general public,” police said.

Last week, three people died in the southern English town of Reading when a man wielding a 12.7cm knife went on the rampage in a park.

Police said they were treating that incident as terrorism.