Brazil's Lula surrenders to police

Brazil's former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has surrendered to police to begin serving a 12-year sentence for corruption.

It follows a two-day stand-off that saw him take refuge in a steelworkers' union building after missing a court deadline to hand himself in.

The 72-year-old walked out of the office in his hometown, near Sao Paolo, and was taken away by police cars.

Scores of supporters had earlier blocked his car from leaving the scene, BBC reports. 

Lula had said he would comply with the arrest warrant against him, but insists he is innocent.

Footage on Brazil's GloboNews showed Lula and his bodyguards pushing through the crowd outside the union building, in the town of Sao Bernardo do Campo.

He will now be taken by police to a cell in the southern city of Curitiba.

Lula was the frontrunner for October's presidential election but his jailing leaves the race wide open.

The former metalworker and trade union activist is an iconic figure for the left in Latin America. He was the first left-wing leader to make it to the Brazilian presidency in nearly half a century.