‘Child killers’: Car daubed with anti-globalisation message crashes into Merkel’s office

A car with an anti-globalisation slogan on its side crashed into the gate of the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday, police said.

The driver has been taken into custody, Berlin police wrote on Twitter, adding that local and federal forces are investigating if the driver hit the gate intentionally.

Photographs from the scene of the incident showed police inspecting a vehicle with the words "Stop globalisation politics" written in white on the Volkswagen sedan’s right side.

Pictures shared online showed the phrase "You damn killers of children and old people" scrawled on the other.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and a government spokesperson said Ms Merkel and members of her cabinet were never at risk during the incident.

"The chancellor, other members of the government and people working in the chancellery were not in danger at any time," a government spokesperson said, adding that the crash had caused only minor damage to property.

Berlin police have said "they do not suspect an extremist attack, with a spokesperson telling Reuters they are not working on the basis of this assumption at the moment".

Emergency services attended the scene, with dozens of police officers and a fire engine present.

The vehicle had license plates from the North Rhine-Westphalia area of Lippe.

It was driven away by the Berlin fire department showing little sign of damage, while the gate to the chancellery looked slightly dented.

Europe is on high alert after terrorist attacks in Paris, Nice and Vienna in recent weeks.

The chancellor was due to be host a video call with the country’s federal state leaders on Wednesday morning, during which a lockdown extension and additional restrictions to deal with the coronavirus pandemic over the holidays were expected to be discussed.

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