BREAKING NEWS - TERROR ATTACK outside Parliament

Breaking news.

Shots are reported to have been fired close to the Houses of Parliament in central London.
Politicians and journalists have tweeted about hearing loud crashes outside the buildings,
Witnesses said they saw people being treated for wounds and reported seeing a man with a knife in the grounds.
Staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said police told her someone had been shot.
She said MPs had told her they heard "three or four gunshots".
Scotland Yard said it was called to a firearms incident on Westminster Bridge amid reports of several people injured.
Transport for London said Westminster underground station has been shut at the police's request.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39355940

Eyewitnesses describe seeing a man with a knife within the confines of the Palace, while the journalist Quentin Letts described seeing a "parliamentary security men shoot a man who had attacked a policeman".

There are also reports of a dozen people injured on Westminster Bridge after a car attempted to run down a number of pedestrians, but this has not yet been confirmed.



http://news.sky.com/story/gunshots-outside-parliament-8211-several-injured-10810680

A "police officer has been stabbed" and the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police", Commons Leader David Lidington has told MPs.

From Radoslaw Sikorski on twitter - about 5 minutes ago -

A car on Westminster Bridge has just mowed down at least 5 people.

Incudes a video -

https://twitter.com/sikorskiradek

One woman now reported dead.
A number of other people have 'catastrophic' injuries,according to a junior doctor.

Jesus Christ.

I hope everyone else is ok.

They are checking out the car which was crashed into the railings, suspect package inside. MP's being held in commons.

Now reporting that the police officer who was stabbed has died.

Fabians Right Peg wrote:Now reporting that the police officer who was stabbed has died.

Four now reportedly dead including the terrorist.

22:34
The officer who died in the attack has been named as Keith Palmer.
Scotland Yard's Mark Rowley said Mr Palmer, 48, had 15 years service as a police officer and was a husband and father.

R.I.P.

R.I.P indeed, you go out to work, you should expect to go home to your family, these bastards have taken that privelige away, hang them.

How ironic that plaudits were being given to a terrorist on Tuesday and this happens Wednesday. What a mixed up World!
RIP

MartinBWFC wrote:R.I.P indeed, you go out to work, you should expect to go home to your family, these bastards have taken that privelige away, hang them.

+1

British born attacker known to MI5

Goes to show that this type of attack will always be a threat and that security forces have an impossible job trying to prioritise over 100k people they are monitoring.

These kind of attacks just give more ammunition to the likes of Donald Trump. RIP to those who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Reebok Trotter wrote:These kind of attacks just give more ammunition to the likes of Donald Trump. RIP to those who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Ultimately I think we'll just have to accept the threat as an occupational hazard/ fact of life. If every car is a weapon, it's impossible to defend against. 
And there are so many easy targets out there.

Is it time to routinely arm the plod?

I've always staunchly argued against it on the basis that gun crime in this country isn't (statistically at least) that bad a problem and arming coppers encourages the bad guys to carry guns as well.

But.....if the poor sod who died in this incident had been carrying, he may well still be alive today.

Driving a car into a crowd of pedestrians appears to be the current method of attack for these loonies and giving coppers handguns can't really stop that happening but is it time for a rethink?

I'm torn.

I'm not an advocate for arming the police,but I think any officer on duty at what might be considered an
area of significance,should be routinely armed.

Bread2.0 wrote:Is it time to routinely arm the plod?

I've always staunchly argued against it on the basis that gun crime in this country isn't (statistically at least) that bad a problem and arming coppers encourages the bad guys to carry guns as well.

But.....if the poor sod who died in this incident had been carrying, he may well still be alive today.

Driving a car into a crowd of pedestrians appears to be the current method of attack for these loonies and giving coppers handguns can't really stop that happening but is it time for a rethink?

I'm torn.

i did think it was odd that the policeman that died was an unarmed member of the Parliamentary and diplomatic protection squad, surely he should have been armed?

I think the time has definitely come for the Police to be armed in certain circumstances and locations

Norpig wrote:

Bread2.0 wrote:Is it time to routinely arm the plod?

I've always staunchly argued against it on the basis that gun crime in this country isn't (statistically at least) that bad a problem and arming coppers encourages the bad guys to carry guns as well.

But.....if the poor sod who died in this incident had been carrying, he may well still be alive today.

Driving a car into a crowd of pedestrians appears to be the current method of attack for these loonies and giving coppers handguns can't really stop that happening but is it time for a rethink?

I'm torn.

i did think it was odd that the policeman that died was an unarmed member of the Parliamentary and diplomatic protection squad, surely he should have been armed?

I think the time has definitely come for the Police to be armed in certain circumstances and locations

According to an eye witness account on BBC the terrorist attacked a policeman who had already fallen over before being shot. I assume the policeman was wearing a stab vest and he was killed because he was already on the ground and more vulnerable. I don't think it would have made much difference if he had been armed.