London, July 12 (IANS) Bush House has been synonymous with the BBC World Service for 70 years, but on Thursday it broadcast from the building for the last time.

Since March, Bush House has been gradually emptying.

The final news bulletin was read at 1200 BST from the building.

It included a special dispatch recorded by the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson.

The service, which has programmes in 28 languages, is moving to another London building with the rest of BBC News.

The BBC's foreign language broadcasting service began in 1938 from Broadcasting House in Portland Place.

After the building was bombed during the Second World War, the service re-located to Bush House in 1941.

It will now return back to Broadcasting House, which has recently completed a major extension, the broadcaster said.

Described by the BBC as a quintessentially British building, Bush House was originally commissioned as a symbol of Anglo-American trade.

When it opened in 1925, it was considered the most expensive building in the world, with a cost estimated at 2 million pounds.

From its location on the Strand, it has been the location of numerous historic moments.

King George V addressed the Empire from the building in 1932, while General Charles de Gaulle used the facilities to send daily support messages to the Free French movement after France fell to Nazi Germany in 1940.

However, the BBC has never owned Bush House and when its lease expires at the end of this year, it will return to its current Japanese owner.