Street scenes of London have been recreated in Berlin for the filming of Roman Polanski's new film because the director cannot enter Britain.

Charlottenstrasse in the German capital has stood in for London, complete with black cabs, red double-decker buses and British bobbies, as shooting gets under way on The Ghost.

The Polish-born director has lived in Paris for the past 32 years since fleeing America, after he was convicted, in 1977, of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

The Ghost, starring Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor, has scenes set in London but Polanski is unable to return to America without being arrested, and if he sets foot in Britain he'll be extradited back to be sentenced. So the production has been forced to shoot the London scenes abroad, also recreating the city at the nearby Babelsberg Studios.

The political thriller, based on Robert Harris's bestseller, centres around a former British prime minister, played by Brosnan and the ghostwriter of his memoirs, played by McGregor.

Co-starring Tom Wilkinson, James Belushi and Kim Cattrall, it is a thinly-veiled portrayal of a Tony Blair-like leader, whose aide is murdered as the former leader faces a war crimes trial.

Polanski, 75, an Oscar-winner for The Pianist, admitting unlawful sexual relations with Samantha Geimer when she was aged 13, but the director fled to France before he could be tried.

A request by his lawyers last month to have the case moved out of Los Angeles so he would not have to appear in person at a hearing to decide whether the charges should be dropped was rejected. Ms Geimer had already asked the courts to dismiss the case and said she has forgiven Polanski.

The Polish-born director made English legal history in 2004 when he gave testimony by videolink in a libel case against Vanity Fair at the High Court.

He was awarded £50,000 damages over claims he made sexual advances towards a model as he was travelling to the funeral of his murdered wife, Sharon Tate.

The joint French-German-UK production is due for release this autumn.