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.

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[22 March 2017 16:04 · Andrew Griffin]

The London Eye is in lockdown, and most of the attractions around the area are thought to be doing the same 

The London Eye

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1/5 There is an ongoing incident on Westminster Bridge and in the vicinity of the Palace of Westminster

3:50 PM - 22 Mar 2017

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The London Eye

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2/5 This is an ongoing incident and, as yet, we cannot provide any firm details as to what has transpired

3:51 PM - 22 Mar 2017

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The London Eye

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3/5 At present we are holding all of our guests within our attractions as per tried and tested security procedures.

3:51 PM - 22 Mar 2017

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The London Eye

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4/5 The safety and security of our guests and staff will always be our number one priority.

3:51 PM - 22 Mar 2017

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5/5 We will update as frequently as possible.

3:51 PM - 22 Mar 2017

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[22 March 2017 16:05 · Andrew Griffin]

Theresa May's spokesman: "The Prime Minister was brought back to Number 10 from Parliament. She is currently monitoring the situation."And: The office of the Serjeant at Arms, who handles security in the House of Commons, said: "We are aware that there has been an incident that has taken place."At this early stage, we cannot comment further."

[22 March 2017 16:06 · Andrew Griffin]

Here is a report from Tom Peck, The Independent's political sketchwriter, who works from Westminster:

Within half an hour parliament was in lockdown. The chamber cleared of MPs, the restaurants of diners. Parliamentary passes no longer opened any door, any gate.

Westminster's press offices occupy the top floor of the palace along from Big Ben and round to Westminster Hall, right over the courtyard where a car smashed into a gate, tourists and pedestrians screamed and, seconds later gunshots were heard.

Chefs, maintenance men, reporters massed at the windows. One had a video of the Prime Minister's car, understood to be Theresa May hurriedly driven away.  

Ambulance staff treated a man by the entrance to Westminster Palace, at least thirty metres inside the perimeter.

Half an hour after the incident, along the Committee Corridor, where MPs meet for meetings all week, another wave of shouting could be heard. Through the windows, anti-terror police could be seen, in their air force blue uniforms, barking instructions to one another, apparently securing the building.

[22 March 2017 16:06 · Andrew Griffin]

Van driver Mitchell Spree, 27, told The Independent he was driving along Embankment when he saw people being evacuated from nearby buildings.He said: "Then we pulled on to the bridge. A lady was laying at the entrance to the bridge. There was about five more people."She was crying. She was speaking to the paramedic. I don't know what the others were like. The police asked us to leave our van. It's still on the bridge."It's shocking."A second witness, Tawhid Tanim, told The Independent he heard three shots - "bang, bang, bang" - some 10 or 15 metres from the Cafe Nero coffee bar where he was waiting for friends.He said: "It was so loud. People were running like crazy."He saw the aftermath of the car striking railings outside Parliament, he said. Whether someone, or something, was underneath, he could not be sure."I couldn't see it properly. I started running."Police officers told the crowds to "just keep running," he said.

[22 March 2017 16:06 · Lizzie Dearden]

Jess, 19, says she heard two gunshots before police started arriving and pushing them back.

[22 March 2017 16:07 · Lizzie Dearden]

Another group of students had headed on to Westminster Bridge, where one is feared to have been injured

[22 March 2017 16:08 · Andrew Griffin]

PA reports that an announcement in Parliament said there was a suspicious package in a vehicle and the bomb squad had been called which halted a planned evacuation.

[22 March 2017 16:08 · Lizzie Dearden]

'We came this way, they went that way,' says Brad, 19. 'We just want to know if our friend is ok'

[22 March 2017 16:11 · Andrew Griffin]

One woman has been confirmed dead after the attack this afternoon.

[22 March 2017 16:12 · Andrew Griffin]