The Telegraph reports:

Bernhard Schodrowski, a police spokesman, said Hotel Adlon had been closed off while police specialists checked the package.

It was unclear whether Mr Obama, who had arrived in Berlin from Israel, was in the building at the time.

The security scare came hours before Mr Obama's much-anticipated speech tonight near the Siegessaul column in central Berlin, where huge numbers of excited spectators are expected to gather to hear the Democratic nominee speak..