Policeman stabbed, attacker shot in major Westminster terror alert

Wednesday 22 March 2017

Today's sitting in the House of Commons has been suspended.

A policeman has been stabbed and his apparent attacker shot by officers in a major security incident at the Houses of Parliament.

Amid shouts and screams, sounds similar to gunfire rang out.

Two people were seen to be lying within Old Palace Yard, immediately outside Westminster Hall.

#Breaking Scotland Yard says it was called to a firearms incident on Westminster Bridge amid reports of several people injured

— Press Association (@PA) March 22, 2017

The sitting in the House of Commons was suspended while police officers sealed off the area around the incident.

Immediately before the incident, at around 2.45pm, a crowd of passers-by was seen running from the direction of Westminster Bridge and around the corner into Parliament Square.

Staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices.

An air ambulance lands outside the Palace of Westminster (Victoria Jones/PA)

Minutes after the incident, an emergency services helicopter landed in Parliament Square, as sirens were heard outside. Air ambulance medics came from the helicopter to assist the casualties.

Two people lay on the ground in the yard. One of them appeared to have had clothes removed as emergency workers attempted to resuscitate the pair.

Parliament Square was closed to traffic. An ambulance entered the gates to New Palace Yard.

Witness Don Brind told the Press Association he heard shots being fired and saw two people apparently injured on the ground.

(Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Brind, a researcher for MPs, said: “I heard some shouting and saw some running out of the corner of my eye and then a short time after that there was a shot. I looked and I saw a civilian on the ground, with somebody standing over him with what I assumed to be a gun.

“Then I looked and about 10 yards away, there was a yellow jacketed person on the ground, who appeared to be alive and talking.”

He said he assumed the person in the high-visibility jacket was a police officer.

(Victoria Jones/PA)

Pictures emerged of a car having crashed into the railings of Parliament at the end of Westminster Bridge

Press Association reporter Laura Harding, who was in Westminster at the time of the incident, said: “Everyone has been evacuated into Central Lobby, including a group of schoolchildren and kitchen staff.

“Around 15 schoolchildren aged around 10, with armed police coming through the lobby now. The children are really calm, the teachers are comforting them. Everyone is standing around on their phones.

“There are also a bunch of young people from the Hammersmith Boxing Club in their tracksuits and the British Lionhearts boxing group.”