Seven arrested in connection with Westminster terror attack

Thursday 23 March 2017

Police have raided six addresses in London, Birmingham and elsewhere.

Seven people have been arrested and six addresses raided in London, Birmingham and elsewhere in connection with the Westminster terror attack, Mark Rowley, the Met’s senior anti-terror officer, has said.

LIVE: Latest update from Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley re incident in #Westminster https://t.co/g9An2eyTtb

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 23, 2017

Officers stormed a flat in Birmingham late on Wednesday night, with West Midlands Police directing inquiries about the operation to the Metropolitan Police.

One witness told the Press Association: “The man from London lived here.”

The address in Hagley Road was raided on Wednesday night (Richard Vernalls/PA)

A police officer stands guard outside the flat (Richard Vernalls/PA)

The House of Commons and the House of Lords will sit at their normal times on Thursday, despite the parliamentary estate playing unwilling host to the attack the previous day.

Pc Keith Palmer, a member of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Squad, was killed as he tried to stop the attacker at around 2.30pm on Wednesday, while three members of the public were also fatally injured.

The suspect, who was armed with two knives, injured around 40 people as he mowed down pedestrians with a car on Westminster Bridge before crashing at the railings in front of Parliament.

Westminster Bridge, where a police cordon remains in place this morning after yesterday's attack pic.twitter.com/TCQy2gB8Xl

— Harriet Line (@HarriLine) March 23, 2017

Bursting through the gate to the Palace of Westminster, he stabbed Pc Palmer before being shot dead by armed officers.

Theresa May praised the bravery of police officers on Wednesday night as it was announced Westminster would attempt to run as smoothly as normal.

In a statement from Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: “Any attempt to defeat those values through violence and terror is doomed to failure. (Thursday) morning, Parliament will meet as normal. We will come together as normal.

“And Londoners – and others from around the world who have come here to visit this great city – will get up and go about their day as normal. They will board their trains, they will leave their hotels, they will walk these streets, they will live their lives.

“And we will all move forward together, never giving in to terror and never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart.”

Donald Trump was among world leaders to offer their support.

Spoke to U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May today to offer condolences on the terrorist attack in London. She is strong and doing very well.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2017

Counter-terror detectives will continue searching for clues to how an armed attacker brought destruction to London.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard on Wednesday night, Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley, the Met’s senior anti-terror officer, said police believe the suspect was “inspired by international terrorism”, and they believe they know who he was.

Paying tribute to Pc Palmer, who had served the police for 15 years, Mr Rowley said: “Today in Westminster we saw tragic events unfold, and our thoughts are with those who lost loved ones, those who were injured and all those affected by this attack.

Full statement from Mark Rowley following the incident in #Westminster #London pic.twitter.com/v2BxIaAdjx

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017

“One of those who died today was a police officer, Pc Keith Palmer, a member of our parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. Keith, aged 48, had 15 years’ service and was a husband and father.

“He was someone who left for work today expecting to return home at the end of his shift, and he had every right to expect that would happen.”

The attack has delayed the Queen’s planned visit to the new headquarters of the Metropolitan Police. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the decision had been taken to postpone the engagement in light of the attack.

The knifeman’s attack left a trail of destruction as paramedics tended to victims on the bridge and at the gate.

A party of French schoolchildren were among those targeted on the bridge, while four students from Edge Hill University in Ormskirk were also hurt – two described as “walking wounded”, and another couple said to have minor injuries. Romanian and South Korean tourists were also caught up in the tragedy.