Parliament crash: Alleged terrorist from Birmingham drove around London for almost eight hours before Westminster attack

Crash being treated as terror incident as driver 'not cooperating' in custody

An alleged terrorist drove around London for almost eight hours before ploughing into cyclists and smashing his car into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament, police have said.

Officers guarding the area had to leap out of the car’s path before armed colleagues rushed to detain the driver early on Tuesday morning.

Witnesses said the suspect, a 29-year-old British man, was silent as he was arrested and he has “not been cooperating” with questioning as police work to establish his motive.

Investigators said he had driven from Birmingham late on Monday and arrived in the capital just after midnight.

The silver Ford Fiesta was spotted in the central Tottenham Court Road area – a famous shopping and nightlife district – from 1.25am until around 6am.

It was then driven to Westminster and circled around the Houses of Parliament and Whitehall until the crash shortly after 7.30am.

Footage showed the car sharply swerving through several cyclists and pedestrians, over central reservations and down the wrong side of the road at high speed before crashing into security barriers.

The car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament (PA)

It struck during parliament’s summer recess and ahead of the daily rush of tourists to the area, leaving it relatively deserted.

Three people suffered non life-threatening injuries in the attack, including a man and woman who needed hospital treatment but have since been discharged.

As the suspect remained in police custody, searches spread to two properties in Birmingham and one in Nottingham.

Labour MP Roger Godsiff confirmed the suspect was from his Hall Green constituency, and he is believed to have been known to West Midlands Police.

Theresa May vowed that terrorists would “never succeed” in dividing Britain, after Donald Trump took to Twitter to blame “crazy animals” for the attack.

Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu, the head of UK counterterror policing, said: “Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident ... no other suspects at the scene have been identified or reported to the police.

“There is no intelligence at this time of further danger to Londoners or the rest of the UK connected to this incident.”

Mr Basu said his team’s current priority was to formally identify the suspect “and establish his motivation if we can – he is not currently cooperating”.

He added: “We don’t believe this person was known to either MI5 or counterterror policing”.

Ben Wallace, the security minister, said the suspect was a “British citizen who came from another country originally”.

“The Palace of Westminster and what it stands for – our values, our tolerance, our liberal society – is always going to be a target for those people whose beliefs we directly challenge,” he added.

“That’s why we’ve seen attacks here against us, either previous plots or actual attacks carried out.

Investigators said no one else was in the vehicle and no weapons had been recovered amid ongoing searches.

According to open source data, the car used in the attack is a 2010 Ford Fiesta Zetec, which was first registered near Nottingham. It displayed a sticker with the website of a car dealership that had 11 branches across the north of England, in Yorkshire, Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside.

Barry Williams, a BBC employee who works near the scene of the crash, said he heard screams.

“The car went onto the wrong side of the road to where cyclists were waiting at lights and ploughed into them,” he added.

“Then it swerved back across the road and accelerated as fast as possible and hit the barrier at full pelt.

“It was a small silver car and he hit it at such speed the car actually lifted off the ground and bounced.

“Then the police just jumped. Two officers managed to leap over the security barriers and then the armed police vehicles all sped towards the scene.”

(Graphic News (Graphic News)

Jason Williams told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme the driver had “driven at speed – more than 40mph”.

He added: “I was told basically to move away, to run. I have run for my life ... it looked deliberate, it didn’t look like an accident”.

Following a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee, the prime minister described the incident as “shocking” and said: “For the second time in as many years the home of our democracy, which is a potent symbol for our precious values of tolerance and freedom, has witnessed terrible scenes just yards from its doors.

“My thoughts are with the innocent members of the public who were hurt in this appalling incident. I wish them a speedy recovery and we must be thankful that nobody suffered life-threatening injuries.

“I also wish to praise the formidable courage of our emergency services, who were on the scene immediately and in significant numbers.

“Once again, they did not flinch and ran towards a dangerous situation in order to protect the public. The country is hugely grateful for their calmness and professionalism.“

Ms May said the national terror threat level remains at “severe”, meaning further attacks are considered highly likely, and urged the public to remain vigilant.

“The twisted aim of the extremists is to use violence and terror to divide us,” she added. “They will never succeed.”

At a briefing for journalists in Westminster, the prime minister’s spokesman said 13 Islamist and four far-right plots have been foiled since the first Westminster attack in March 2017 – an average of one a month.

A total of 676 terrorism investigations by MI5 and counterterrorism police were underway by the end of June this year, up from around 500 just four months before.

Police officers at a cordon after the crash (Reuters)

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said: “All Londoners, like me, utterly condemn all acts of terrorism on our city. The response of Londoners today shows that we will never be cowed, intimidated or divided by any terrorist attack.”

​Police launched a huge security operation that saw large parts of Westminster shut down, including the tube station, and cordons spread up Whitehall and across Westminster Bridge.

Explosives detection dogs were seen carrying out checks as armed officers patrolled cordons and a police helicopter hovered overhead.

The cordons were progressively lifted throughout the day and Westminster tube station was fully reopened.

British Transport Police announced it was increasing patrols across England, Scotland and Wales, and a Scotland Yard spokesperson said. “The public can also expect to see extra police officers – both armed and unarmed – out on the streets in and around central London.

“The public should remain vigilant and if you see anything suspicious that causes concern, dial 999 immediately.”

Police initially locked down the Houses of Parliament and surrounding buildings but later let parliamentary staff into work and tours were planned to restart for tourists as soon as possible.

MPs and peers are currently on summer recess, meaning Westminster Palace is less busy than normal.

The incident came at the beginning of rush hour, and ahead of the arrival of the bulk of sightseers who normally pack out the streets around parliament.

Rebecca Clark, a 52-year-old American tourist, had been due to go on a tour of the Houses of Parliament.

Armed police officers stand at a cordon after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster Reuters) (REUTERS)

She told The Independent: “I’m just frustrated mainly – I live in New York so we have these kind of things as well. They are being cautious and that’s good.”

Ms Clark said the incident had not affected her view of London, where she previously studied and lived in the 1980s. “It’s always a good time to visit London, this is just unfortunate.”

It struck metres away from the UK’s first Isis-inspired attack, which saw a car ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and gates outside parliament last March.

The atrocity caused parliamentary security to be increased, with strengthened fencing installed around the building, protocols changed and new security barriers to prevent vehicles approaching entrances.

A spokesperson for the Houses of Parliament said: “The safety and security of those working in or visiting the UK parliament is our top priority. Our current measures are robust and are continuously reviewed.”

Security services have since foiled several other plots to attack Westminster using knives and bombs.

Last month a former Taliban bombmaker was jailed for life after being arrested walking towards parliament armed with three knives. Westminster was also the main target of Britain’s first all-female jihadi gang, who have been jailed for planning an Isis-inspired knife

Westminster was among the attack locations listed by another Isis fanatic who was training an “army of children” to launch simultaneous attacks in London.

And another jihadi planned to bomb the gates to nearby Downing Street before storming the building in a suicide vest to behead the prime minister.

Isis has issued advice to its followers non how to carry out atrocities using vehicles, knives and other easily obtained items, which have made attack plans faster and harder to spot for authorities.​

The terrorist group urges perpetrators to carry a secondary weapon inside cars to inflict more damage after they crash, as seen in the previous attacks in Westminster and London Bridge.

Police are urging anyone with information on the incident or footage to call 0800 789 321 or visit www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.