POST-MORTEM examinations of the bodies of two women found in a hotel room are expected to confirm a double suicide.

The women, one aged in her 30s, the other in her 50s, were found in a bedroom of the Costello Palace Hotel in Finsbury Park, north London, on Sunday.

The discovery of a powder in the room prompted police to evacuate the hotel and close off roads in the surrounding area, in what emergency services described as a chemical incident.

A police spokeswoman said the women "are believed to have committed suicide by taking a noxious substance".

Officers from London Fire Brigade were seen entering the building in decontamination suits and specialist breathing apparatus.

At the height of the operation more than 15 emergency vehicles were outside the hotel.