‘All of the window at the back was smashed in’: Have I Got News For You star and Private Eye editor Ian Hislop was showered with glass after incident ‘feared to be gun attack’

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop was showered with glass after an incident where it was feared a gunman had 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 the incident unfolded.

It happened shortly after 10am on Tuesday as the car sat in traffic in Soho, central London.

A local worker, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline: ‘I just saw the taxi in the street – it was parked just up there.

‘My colleague spotted it – all of the window at the back was smashed in, just a little black cab.

‘I think I saw it at about 10.30am – with all the police alongside.’

Both Hislop and the driver escaped without injury, after the incident unfolded 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. 

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop was in central London on Tuesday as he travelled in a black cab

He is also well known as one of the team captains on BBC panel show Have I Got News For You opposite Paul Merton (pictured)

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 fortnightly 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. 

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.’

MailOnline has contacted the Met and Private Eye for further comment. 

Private Eye is as renowned for its satirical articles, jokes and cartoons as it is for its in-depth investigations into the rich and powerful

The incident took place on Dean Street, close to the offices of Private Eye magazine (pictured on Carlisle Street around the corner)

Police said they were called at 10.10am on Tuesday to a report of a firearms discharge on Dean Street, Westminster

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.’