Private Eye editor Ian Hislop was feared to have been targeted by a gunman who ‘shot at his taxi’ during morning rush hour.
The Have I Got News For You star, known for his exchanges with rival team captain Paul Merton, was in the back seat of the black cab when it happened.
He and the driver feared a bullet had struck the rear window of the hackney carriage shortly after 10am on Tuesday as the car sat in traffic in Soho, central London.
But police later released a further statement they had found no evidence of a gun being fired.
Both men escaped without injury, according to reports. The incident took place on Dean Street close to its junction with Oxford Street – close to where Private Eye’s offices are located.
The cab driver told detectives the car was at a standstill in traffic when he heard a noise akin to something striking the window.
Police conducted a search of the area, closed roads, and are reviewing CCTV footage.
Mr Hislop has been the editor of Private Eye since 1986. The weekly magazine is as famed for its satirical pieces and cartoons as it is for its in-depth investigations into politicians and City businesses.
However, police have reportedly stressed that they are keeping an open mind as to any motive for the attack.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told the Guardian, which first reported on the incident: ‘Police were called at 10.10am on Tuesday, 1 October to a report of a firearms discharge on Dean Street, Westminster.
‘The driver of a London black taxi reported he was stationary in traffic when a shot was fired towards his vehicle, striking the window.
‘There were no injuries. An investigation has been launched.’
has contacted the Met and Private Eye for further comment.
A spokesman for Mr Hislop declined to comment.
During his tenure as editor of the Eye, Ian Hislop is believed to have become one of the most sued men in English legal history.
The magazine’s fearlessness in printing allegations against the rich and powerful has made it a magnet for libel lawsuits brought by those who have the dubious honour of featuring in its pages.
It reportedly sets a quarter of its budget aside to pay out in legal cases.
Mr Hislop told the Independent in 2010: ‘When I took over, I made a number of very pompous statements about how I was really going to cut the libel bills and this shoddy approach to libel wasn’t going to exist any more.
‘Then over the coming years, I managed to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the most money ever lost and hit a number of just huge payouts.’