London attack: Four people dead and 20 injured in Westminster terror incident

A body is covered by a sheet outside the Palace of Westminster, London, after a policeman was stabbed and his apparent attacker shot by officers in a major security incident at the Houses of Parliament (PA)

Four people were killed in the Westminster terror attack, police have confirmed.

The number includes the police officer who was stabbed and his attacker, Scotland Yard's top anti-terror officer Mark Rowley said.

The other two victims are understood to have died on the bridge, he added.

He also said at least 20 people had been injured.

Mr Rowley also said police believed there to have been only one suspect, although he said they were carrying out thorough checks.

The attacker, armed with two large knives, mowed down pedestrians with his car on Westminster Bridge, including schoolchildren, then rushed at the gates in front of the Houses of Parliament, stabbing a policeman before he was shot by armed officers.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror when gunfire rang out as the attacker approached a second officer within yards of the Houses of Parliament.

Mr Rowley told reporters outside New Scotland Yard: "This was a day we've planned for but hoped would never happen. Sadly it is now a reality."

Paramedics fought to save the officer's life and that of his attacker on the floor of the cobbled courtyard in front of Parliament, with Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood among those who rushed to help.

The police officer was wheeled away on a stretcher with his face covered.

Mr Ellwood, who lost his brother in the Bali bombing, could be seen pumping the officer's chest then standing above him, his hands and face smeared with blood.

Other armed officers, some in plain clothes and wearing balaclavas, swarmed around the yard just feet from where MPs had earlier attended Prime Minister's Questions.

Follow the latest updates:

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

[22 March 2017 15:57 · Andrew Griffin]

Daily Mail political editor Jason Groves witnessed the incident from his office window.He said: "I heard a bang coming from Westminster Tube station, looked out the window, there's a commotion, armed cops were running, the crowd of people outside were running as if for their lives."A guy comes through the vehicle entrance wielding something, towards a copper, the copper tumbles."The man's running towards Westminster Hall, and then you've got a plain clothes copper comes running out."Not from the gate, but from the inside, shoots him once from maybe 10 or 15 yards away with a handgun, and then gets closer to him and shoots him again from over him and he doesn't get up."

[22 March 2017 15:58 · Andrew Griffin]

Police have warned that pictures shouldn't necessarily be shared, but that they should all be passed on to the police. 

Metropolitan Police

@metpoliceuk

If you have photos or film of the incident in #Westminster please make sure you pass them to police https://t.co/l9dn1FQr7B

3:41 PM - 22 Mar 2017

• Reply
• Retweet
• Favorite

 

Metropolitan Police

@metpoliceuk

Please use common sense and restraint in circulating pictures and videos of those that have been injured during the incident in #Westminster

3:45 PM - 22 Mar 2017

• Reply
• Retweet
• Favorite

[22 March 2017 15:59 · Andrew Griffin]

Witness Rick Longley told the Press Association that he saw a man stab a policeman outside Britain's Parliament."We were just walking up to the station and there was a loud bang and a guy, someone, crashed a car and took some pedestrians out," he said."They were just laying there and then the whole crowd just surged around the corner by the gates just opposite Big Ben."A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman."I have never seen anything like that. I just can't believe what I just saw."Lawmaker Adam Holloway told the AP he saw people running and immediately ran into his offices in Parliament to be with his staff. "A lot of us are locked in with our staff at the moment," he said.

[22 March 2017 15:59 · GSTTnhs]

Staff and visitors at St Thomas' and Evelina London Hospitals are being advised to remain on site during the current security incident.

[22 March 2017 16:01 · luketomhanrahan]

Eyewitness Ismael Hassan tells me he saw a 4x4 zig zag up Westminster Bridge hit around 10 people. He was two metres from the car.

[22 March 2017 16:01 · HumzaYousaf]

Holyrood suspended out of respect for our sister Parliament and all that's going on in Westminster. Thoughts with all down the road

[22 March 2017 16:02 · Andrew Griffin]

Kathy Casatelli, 58, saw a car rammed into the front gates of the palace and a man being treated on the floor.She said: "We were coming up from the Tube and we walked out and there were officers there with their guns drawn."I saw this car that was smashed into the gate. It was a grey BMW, it looked like a nice car. The whole windshield was smashed."There was a man on the ground, it looked like he was moving. I don't know if he was the driver."Ms Casatelli, from Syracuse in the US and on holiday in London since Saturday, said she heard that someone had been wielding a knife.She said: "One of the officers was trying to him."He wasn't moving very much, I thought I saw him moving."I don't know if he was riding a bike and got hit. There was somebody with him and he was there with his hands on his head."I don't know if they were walking or biking and it hit them."Police extended the cordon back up Broad Sanctuary beyond Westminster Abbey to the junction with Victoria Street.Four police vans arrived at the scene at 3.40pm, as the air ambulance took off.

[22 March 2017 16:02 · Andrew Griffin]

In a statement Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "Reports suggest the ongoing incident in Westminster this afternoon is extremely serious."Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrific attack, (their) families and friends."The police and security staff have taken swift action to ensure the safety of the public, MPs and staff, and we are grateful to them."

[22 March 2017 16:03 · Andrew Griffin]

[22 March 2017 16:04 · Lizzie Dearden]

These students from Edge Hill University were on a politics trip to the Houses of Paliament when they went out for a break & heard gunshots http://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7iNeyxXwAE5kLN.jpg