Westminster
What we know so far
- A policeman has been stabbed and his attacker shot by officers at the House of Parliament
- Police are treating it as a “terrorist incident”
- The attacker is reported to have mowed down several pedestrians as he drove a grey Hyundai car across Westminster Bridge before crashing it into railings
- He is then reported to have run through the gates of the Palace of Westminster and stabbed the officer
- Eyewitnesses said he was shot by police as he approached a second officer clutching his knife
- House of Commons and Lords in lockdown – as is nearby St Thomas’s hospital
- Public urged to avoid the area and Westminster Underground station is closed
- Prime Minister Theresa May was seen being ushered into a silver Jaguar in the grounds of the Palace of Westminster as what sounded like gunfire rang out at around 14:45 GMT
- A Downing Street source confirmed the prime minster was “OK”.
That was at 5 p.m. their time. The attack started around 2:45 their time.
‘Increased chatter’ on extremist networks – AP
A European security official has told the AP news agency there was increased “chatter” on Jihadi networks Tuesday following the UK’s adoption of an electronics ban aboard flights from certain mostly Muslim countries.
But he said there was no information that Westminster incident was terror-related.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Tory MP describes her reaction
Former education secretary Nicky Morgan told the Press Association: “The Division Bell had just gone and MPs were making their way to the House of Commons chamber. I was walking from Portcullis House along the path of Old Palace Yard when suddenly shots rang out.
“It takes a moment to realise that is actually gunfire and at that point people were yelling get down get back”
They share tweets from MPs:
Armed officers ordered myself and Security Minister into lobby at gun point. Terrifying
— Anna Soubry 🇬🇧🏴🇺🇦🇪🇺🖤🤍 (@Anna_Soubry) March 22, 2017
On lockdown in Commons Chamber following dreadful events in and around parliament. Thoughts with everyone at this terrible time.
— Vernon Coaker (@Vernon_Coaker) March 22, 2017
Twitter video
A video on Twitter appearing to show people lying injured in the road on Westminster Bridge was posted by Radoslaw Sikorski.Mr Sikorski, a senior fellow at Harvard Centre for European Studies, told the BBC: “I heard what I thought what I thought was just a collision and then I looked through the window of the taxi and someone down, obviously in great distress.
“Then I saw a second person down, and I started filming, then I saw three more people down, one of them bleeding profusely.”
Helicopter top left hovering over Westminster Bridge. My prayers are with the brave police officer who was attacked pic.twitter.com/KsV5xdPxG3
— Michael Fabricant 🇬🇧🇮🇱🇺🇦 (@Mike_Fabricant) March 22, 2017
The scariest item I’ve seen so far:
Donald Trump ‘briefed on situation’
US President Donald Trump “has been briefed on the situation” in London and is monitoring events, his press secretary Sean Spicer tweeted.
I’m not joking. It’s horrifying that he’s the one being briefed about this.
Gunshots fired in London? Shit that’s pretty serious… if the attacker wasn’t dead he’d be locked away for life just for firing it pretty much…
BKiSA – I don’t know about that – it sounded like he had a knife, and the police were the ones who fired the shots.
I’m sure he will act swiftly to announce that this is yet further proof that we need to tamp down on travel by them radical moose lambs.
That will certainly be part of the terrible effect of this event.
@iknklast:
Shit… I need to read articles more carefully.