:00:16. > :00:19.Holyrood is tonight reeling from the terrorist
:00:20. > :00:22.attack on its sister parliament at Westminster.
:00:23. > :00:26.News of the attack came as MSPs debated asking for powers to hold
:00:27. > :00:28.a referendum on independence - that debate was halted just before
:00:29. > :00:30.4:00 this afternoon, as news from London filtered
:00:31. > :00:45.Our political editor Brian Taylor reports.
:00:46. > :00:52.Nicola Sturgeon and her deputy arrived ready to continue the
:00:53. > :00:55.debate. Then first reports from Westminster began to emerge. The
:00:56. > :01:02.Tories debated whether things could continue. Might it not be more
:01:03. > :01:10.appropriate for this debate to be suspended until the situation big --
:01:11. > :01:15.became clearer? The initial verdict was... It has been decided to carry
:01:16. > :01:19.on with business as usual. The news from Westminster grew steadily
:01:20. > :01:24.worse. The decision was made -- taken to close down debate for the
:01:25. > :01:27.day. The fact that our sister Parliament has had a serious
:01:28. > :01:31.incident is affecting this particular debate, and affecting the
:01:32. > :01:37.contribution of members. So it is for that reason we have decided to
:01:38. > :01:42.suspend the setting. Politics just fades into the background on a day
:01:43. > :01:47.like today. Clearly so many people in the Scottish Parliament have
:01:48. > :01:51.friends, colleagues in Westminster, many people in Scotland have friends
:01:52. > :01:55.working in London, and therefore as a mark of respect, not because of
:01:56. > :02:00.any increased threat to the Scottish parliament, but as a mark of respect
:02:01. > :02:05.and solidarity, the decision to suspend business was the right one.
:02:06. > :02:10.Most MSP supported the decision. Everyone's very worried about what's
:02:11. > :02:15.happening down at Westminster, and it seems more appropriate to suspend
:02:16. > :02:19.until we know more details. Some things are more important than
:02:20. > :02:24.politics? Absolutely. This is an attack on us all, and -- and until
:02:25. > :02:29.there is any clarity, I think the sensible thing to do is to suspend.
:02:30. > :02:32.It doesn't look good, given the important matter we are discussing
:02:33. > :02:37.right now, to press ahead with that in the face of what is an alarming
:02:38. > :02:42.and potentially very tragic situation down south. But some
:02:43. > :02:46.dissenters. This is terrible news, but we should never give in to
:02:47. > :02:51.terrorism, and I think it was a mistake to suspend the business of
:02:52. > :02:53.Parliament on what is an important decision for Scotland. MSPs will
:02:54. > :02:58.decide tomorrow when to resume their decision for Scotland. MSPs will
:02:59. > :03:02.debate. But this course will resume in Edinburgh and in London. At the
:03:03. > :03:09.Palace of Westminster, crisis, a lockdown. At Holyrood, a silent
:03:10. > :03:13.chamber and safety first security. Democracy requiring vigilance.
:03:14. > :03:15.Our political correspondent Nick Eardley was on the streets
:03:16. > :03:26.Here's his report into how events unfolded.
:03:27. > :03:28.Terror at the heart of British democracy.
:03:29. > :03:32.One of London's busiest tourist spots.
:03:33. > :03:43.At the moment it is not clear what is going on behind me.
:03:44. > :03:46.We have just seen police darting along there, and what looked
:03:47. > :03:48.like ministerial cars being rushed away.
:03:49. > :03:55.An incident the police are treating as a terror attack.
:03:56. > :03:56.Within minutes of reported gunshots, the scene outside
:03:57. > :03:59.There are reports that someone has been shot.
:04:00. > :04:01.Armed police flooding into Parliament, Westminster
:04:02. > :04:06.On the other side of this iconic building, a car hit members
:04:07. > :04:12.a man armed with a knife tried to enter parliament.
:04:13. > :04:23.Four were killed, among them a police officer.
:04:24. > :04:27.This guy took the police by surprise and ran through and took one
:04:28. > :04:30.policeman down, and as another one approached he got up
:04:31. > :04:33.and he had a knife and that is when I heard gunfire.
:04:34. > :04:45.Order, order, I am now going to suspend the sitting of the house.
:04:46. > :04:47.The SNP's Westminster leader sits on the joint intelligence committee.
:04:48. > :04:50.In these circumstances I think it is important to reflect that
:04:51. > :04:52.whether they were police officers or security staff from
:04:53. > :04:57.the Palace of Westminster, they were there to help everybody
:04:58. > :05:00.and that is what they were trying to do, and when everybody else
:05:01. > :05:04.is being told to run away from danger, those are the people
:05:05. > :05:06.who are running into the face of danger, and it is
:05:07. > :05:10.would be prepared to put their lives on the line
:05:11. > :05:20.It's been about five hours now since those first scenes of panic. MPs,
:05:21. > :05:26.peers and their staff are giving statements to the police. We are all
:05:27. > :05:31.able to walk out of here tonight in darkness because a police officer's
:05:32. > :05:35.put his life on the line so that we can go home safely. You feel
:05:36. > :05:39.genuinely upset, and your heart goes out to the people are impacted by
:05:40. > :05:41.it, but we will be back in there tomorrow. It is a democracy, and we
:05:42. > :05:44.will not let this impact what we do. Tonight Westminster
:05:45. > :05:46.remains in lockdown, on the European
:05:47. > :05:49.Parliament in Brussels. It appears democracy is the target
:05:50. > :05:53.of terrorism once again. Nick joins us now from our
:05:54. > :05:57.studio at Westminster. A shocking day, Nick - give us
:05:58. > :06:08.a sense of what's happening now. It is eerily quiet, the street just
:06:09. > :06:13.outside the BBC office here that you saw in the film there would normally
:06:14. > :06:18.be busy with traffic, with people heading home, even at this late
:06:19. > :06:23.hour. It is completely deserted, the only thing I could see just before I
:06:24. > :06:28.came in to speak to you just know was a police boat going up and down
:06:29. > :06:32.the Thames. The streets around Westminster are still cordoned off,
:06:33. > :06:36.they are still in something of a state of lockdown. Parliament
:06:37. > :06:40.itself, we have heard from police, in the last half hour has been
:06:41. > :06:43.lifted out of that state of lockdown, but it will be many hours,
:06:44. > :06:47.perhaps days, before this part of the city returns to normal.
:06:48. > :06:50.We saw in your film a moment ago Calum Kerr saying that today's
:06:51. > :06:52.events won't impact on the work members of Parliament do -
:06:53. > :06:59.It's quite an extraordinary thing that sometimes in the face of
:07:00. > :07:04.attacks like this people are so defined. I spoke to a few MPs
:07:05. > :07:08.tonight who very much echoed that sentiment, but whatever's happened
:07:09. > :07:14.in Westminster today, they will be back at work tomorrow, ready to do
:07:15. > :07:19.what they do. Quite often we hear in politics about the tensions, about
:07:20. > :07:24.the arguments, about the things we don't like about politicians.
:07:25. > :07:28.Tomorrow I think you will see a sense of unity, across parties,
:07:29. > :07:32.across Parliament in the UK as well. Saying that whatever our
:07:33. > :07:43.differences, whatever our opinions people might have that don't match
:07:44. > :07:45.up, they stand for democracy first and foremost. It's not just
:07:46. > :07:47.politicians tonight will be recovering from what has happened,
:07:48. > :07:50.there will be members of the public, there will be tourists. But there is
:07:51. > :07:54.a real sense tonight that tomorrow London will get a buzz normal. It
:07:55. > :08:00.has seen something like this before, life will go on.
:08:01. > :08:03.being emphasised that there's no intelligence to suggest
:08:04. > :08:06.Glenn Campbell reports now on how parliaments are protected.
:08:07. > :08:08.Whether it's Westminster or here at Holyrood,
:08:09. > :08:18.parliaments in the UK do take security really seriously.
:08:19. > :08:22.When this building was going up, they changed
:08:23. > :08:25.the design to add in this
:08:26. > :08:27.massive blast wall of solid concrete, and that change was made
:08:28. > :08:34.following the terrorist attacks on the United States on 9/11.
:08:35. > :08:36.In the years since then, security has been kept
:08:37. > :08:46.For instance, these bollards have been added
:08:47. > :08:52.to the defence of architecture on the Parliamentary estate,
:08:53. > :08:54.and I think I'm right in saying that happened
:08:55. > :08:55.following the attack on Glasgow Airport.
:08:56. > :08:58.The most recent change, though, it is the addition of a new,
:08:59. > :09:00.public entrance to the Scottish Parliament.
:09:01. > :09:01.This block has been added on, taking airport-style
:09:02. > :09:06.security screening away from the main building.
:09:07. > :09:08.Let's talk to somebody who knows about security,
:09:09. > :09:12.a man in charge of policing this area of Edinburgh at one point.
:09:13. > :09:15.How hard is it for police and security services to keep
:09:16. > :09:23.It's constantly evolving, and the plan has to be refined
:09:24. > :09:34.literally week on week, gathering information
:09:35. > :09:38.about not only what is happening in the UK,
:09:39. > :09:40.but in Europe and other parts of the world.
:09:41. > :09:42.The plan will be refined and rehearsed constantly.
:09:43. > :09:44.Will today's incident make a difference?
:09:45. > :09:46.Will it change the way Parliaments and other public
:09:47. > :09:50.Once we find that what has happened and analyse it,
:09:51. > :09:55.But it's not just policing that evolves -
:09:56. > :09:57.and their staff also keep their personal
:09:58. > :10:04.Let'ss talk about personal safety with two newly elected MSPs.
:10:05. > :10:06.Ross Thomson, what has your experience been
:10:07. > :10:12.I was a new MSP in May, and it has been a learning curve
:10:13. > :10:14.and you do not expect to think about your own personal security.
:10:15. > :10:17.You expect to learn everything else about the building,
:10:18. > :10:32.We have had some incidents of people coming off the street and I am quite
:10:33. > :10:36.but for the staff who work in my office it is not fair.
:10:37. > :10:43.We have to be accessible, but you also have to take
:10:44. > :10:44.into account that personal security element.
:10:45. > :10:47.You have served at Westminster, have you ever felt unsafe doing your job?
:10:48. > :10:49.You have to accept it as part of the job.
:10:50. > :10:52.I have had several death threats over the years,
:10:53. > :10:56.I had a shooting threat against me at my office previously.
:10:57. > :11:00.But like Ross said, it is important to reflect on the security risks,
:11:01. > :11:03.but also the risks to all the staff and the staff who work in and around
:11:04. > :11:14.It's those I think our thoughts have to be with today.
:11:15. > :11:17.There is a balance to be struck between the security
:11:18. > :11:22.and debate about that will intensify following today's attack.
:11:23. > :11:28.with the weather outlook for tonight and tomorrow.
:11:29. > :11:34.Well, fairly wet tonight across central and southern parts of the
:11:35. > :11:40.country, but that rain easing away. It will take a well though, because
:11:41. > :11:44.the low pressure responsible is pushing southwards over the next few
:11:45. > :11:49.days, being replaced by high pressure. So we have a change in
:11:50. > :11:53.weather type to something generally dry, bright, sunny, and increasingly
:11:54. > :12:00.warm. That rain over the next few hours, it will tend to fizzle away
:12:01. > :12:04.by dawn, leaving a legacy of cloud to start the day across the south,
:12:05. > :12:08.and still one or two spots of rain around. Anywhere from Ayrshire
:12:09. > :12:13.eastwards towards the Borders, perhaps fringing into parts of the
:12:14. > :12:14.Central Belt. Further north it is a bright, sunny morning, but a cold
:12:15. > :12:20.morning with a frost. It will be bright, sunny morning, but a cold
:12:21. > :12:24.chilly, despite sunny skies. Similar for Orkney and Shetland, perhaps a
:12:25. > :12:33.few showers fringing in across northern parts. Through the course
:12:34. > :12:35.of the morning and into the afternoon tomorrow, the cloudy
:12:36. > :12:37.weather continues to improve with some sunshine coming through, and
:12:38. > :12:40.the winds reasonably light and the sunshine will make it feel OK.
:12:41. > :12:46.Across the UK as a whole the wet weather we've had today, anywhere
:12:47. > :12:52.from Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex. North of this,
:12:53. > :12:55.the Midlands, East Anglia, and Northern Ireland, dry and bright,
:12:56. > :12:59.and similar for Scotland. Temperatures up to ten and 11 in the
:13:00. > :13:04.South West. Into the evening, largely dry but it will be a clear
:13:05. > :13:09.and a cold night. For Friday, high pressure in charge so most of us
:13:10. > :13:14.having a dry, fine day. A few spots of light rain at times, but most of
:13:15. > :13:18.the Central lowlands and South, plasma, ten, 11 Celsius. Perhaps
:13:19. > :13:23.even 12 for some. High pressure for the weekend, staying with us.
:13:24. > :13:24.Increasingly warm, perhaps temperatures into the mid-teens for
:13:25. > :13:25.the weekend. Our next update is during Breakfast
:13:26. > :13:30.at 6:25 tomorrow morning. But from everyone on the late
:13:31. > :13:32.team here in Glasgow