Pedestrians Hurt In Terrorist Incident At Houses Of Parliament
14 August 2018, 07:58 | Updated: 14 August 2018, 13:40
A number of pedestrians have been injured after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament.
Footage shows a large police presence on the scene in Westminster, including armed officers. They rush to the car with their weapons drawn and haul open the car doors before leading a man away.
Westminster is in lockdown with a 500m cordon in place. There are a number of road closures in the area.
The Met Police say a number of pedestrians have been injured, but do not believe any of them are in a life-threatening condition.
They are treating the collision as a terrorist incident and the investigation is being led by Counter Terror officers.
Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said they do not yet know the identity of the man in custody and he is not co-operating.
At 0737hrs today, a car was in collision with barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. The male driver of the car was detained by officers at the scene. A number of pedestrians have been injured. Officers remain at the scene. We will issue further info when we have it.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) August 14, 2018
A Met Police statement read: "A man has been arrested following a collision in Westminster this morning.
"At 07:37hrs today, Tuesday 14 August, a car was in collision with barriers outside the Houses of Parliament.
"The male driver of the car (no further details) was arrested by officers at the scene.
"A number of pedestrians have been injured. We await an update on their condition, however officers do not believe that anyone is in a life-threatening condition.Officers remain at the scene and cordons are in place to assist the investigation."
Westminster tube station was closed for several hours after the incident, but has since fully reopened.
The London Ambulance Service said in a statement that they have treated two people at the scene for "injuries that are not believed to be serious".
Our statement in response to the incident in #Westminster. We have treated two people at the scene for injuries that are not believed to be serious and have taken them to hospital. pic.twitter.com/ySXAgmYqfF
— London Ambulance (@Ldn_Ambulance) August 14, 2018
The area is currently in lockdown. Extra protection by police is also in operation at Downing Street.
Eyewitness Ewalina Ochab told the Press Association: "I think it looked intentional - the car drove at speed and towards the barriers.
"I was walking on the other side [of the road]. I heard some noise and someone screamed. I turned around and I saw a silver car driving very fast close to the railings, maybe even on the pavement."
"The person driving did not go out" of the vehicle, she added.
She stated that the vehicle did not appear to have a front registration plate when it crashed.
The Houses of Parliament are surrounded with security barriers of steel and concrete.
The measures were extended in the wake of the Westminster Bridge attack in March 2017 when Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, killing four people.
