A smash and grab jewellery raid on two luxury shops may have been an inside job, a former senior Scotland Yard officer has said.

 Robbers stole thousands of pounds worth of gems and watches from the De Beers and Omega stores in the exclusive Royal Exchange shopping centre in the City of London on Saturday night.

Detectives are scouring CCTV footage for clues about the gang, who arrived at and fled the heavily-protected complex in a red BMW.

John O'Connor, former commander of Scotland Yard's Flying Squad, said the raid was clearly carefully planned and may have been helped by someone who worked at the shopping centre.