London attack as it happened: Five dead and 40 injured after terror incident in Westminster
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Your support makes all the difference.A police officer has been stabbed and an alleged assailant shot by armed police outside the Houses of Parliament.
Here's what we know so far:
- Police officer died after being stabbed outside Parliament
- Two people reported dead after a car ploughed into crowd on Westminster bridge causing multiple casualties
- Metropolitan police are treating this as a terrorist incident
- Eyewitness account of the stabbing incident outside Parliament gate
- Donald Trump has been briefed on the attack, Sean Spicer confirms
- Theresa May was '40 yards away' from scene of stabbing, was immediately evacuated and confirmed safe
- House of Commons session suspended and MPs evacuated
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Commons Leader David Lidington has told MPs a "police officer has been stabbed" and the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police" following a "serious" incident within the parliamentary estate.
Minutes later, an emergency services helicopter landed in Parliament Square, as sirens were heard outside.
Iframe:
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.
A joint statement from Commons Speaker John Bercow and Lord Fowler, the Lord Speaker, said: "On behalf of Members of both Houses of Parliament, we wish to offer our thoughts to all those affected and their families."We would also like to express our gratitude to the police and all emergency services."
Several EU leaders sent messages of concern and sympathy on social media.Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, who earlier in the day had taken part in commemorations to mark the first anniversary of a terror attack in Brussels, said: "Our condolences are with those who mourn and all who are affected in London. Belgium stands with UK in fight against terror."Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen said: "Horrified by the images from London. My thoughts are with our British friends."Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said: "Terrorism - weapon of cowards. Strongly condemn gruesome terrorist attack at the heart of Westminster."The European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said: "My thoughts are with the people of London."
Independent political editor Joe Watts, who is still at Parliament, is starting to piece together the run of events: 
Some pieces of the jigsaw about what happened here from people I have spoken to....
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There were three or four fired at the assailant depending on who you talk to...
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...when they struck he dropped to the floor immediately...
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....paramedics worked, giving him cpr for a sustained period...
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....at the same time a second team worked frantically nearby on the officer who was stabbed...
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I watched the two teams working equally hard to save both the officer and assailant at the same time...an odd feeling
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Account of what’s happening to journalists still inside the parliament lockdown on @JoeWatts_ timeline twitter.com/JoeWatts_/stat…
A suspect may still be on the loose around Parliament, according to ITV News.
Just spoke to bus driver who was driving over Westminster Bridge when attack happened:'I thought he lost control but then I heard screaming'
The police officer who was stabbed in the attack died at the scene, according to reports.
Bus driver: 'I saw people rushing into Parliament...a man was shouting his wife jumped in river to get away from the car' #Westminster
Bus driver: 'I could see all the people lying on the floor, a couple of them weren't moving.'
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said he believed only one person was in the car that apparently mowed down pedestrians along the bridge.
"My staff face Bridge Street, they saw exactly what happened and what happened was that a four-wheel drive vehicle, we think being driven by one person only, had rammed several groups of protesters along Westminster Bridge, finally ended up ramming two pedestrians by the railings leading to New Palace Yard," he told the BBC.
"One person only, we believe, got out of the car with knives went into New Palace gates attacked a policeman and then was immediately or fairly soon afterwards shot by another policeman."