22/03/2017 London News


22/03/2017

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Terror on the streets of London - this evening additional armed

:00:00.:00:00.

officers are deployed around the capital.

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We now, of course, have an ongoing operation and while we believe

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there was just one attacker I'm sure the public will understand us taking

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every precaution and locking down the area as thoroughly as possible.

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Also tonight: From Parliament Square to Victoria Embankment,

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people are told to avoid these key areas around the city.

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Bloodied and bowed - we speak to one eyewitness

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who was there and saw the attack unfold from outside

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I hear bang, bang, twice. No more, twice. I said to myself, oh, dear,

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this accident. First person to arrive in that incident is me. I see

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man lying in the floor, front of Parliament door, actually. It is

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full of blood. Good evening and welcome

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to the programme. I'm Alex Bushill.

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Londoners are once more facing a major security incident

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in the capital. Armed police remain on the streets

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and people are told to avoid certain areas of the city after a police

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officer was stabbed in the grounds The attacker has been shot and

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killed. Several people were also injured

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by a vehicle on Westminster Bridge. Our home affairs correspondent

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Nick Beake is at New Scotland Yard, where police have been updating us

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on the situation. Details are still emerging, what is

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the very latest? Alex, this is the day that London had planned for but

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hoped it would never see. We know what city has been a price target

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for those who would do as ill. The security services have said they

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have worked tirelessly to prevent an attack, but today someone got

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through, with deadly consequences. Let me tell you where you are, this

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is the cord and at the Palace of Westminster, as far as we can get,

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you can see Big Ben illuminated and, crucially, armed police remaining in

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place. Westminster Bridge is to the right, that is still sealed. We can

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take you through the events as far as we know them, at around 2:40pm a

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car drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and crashed into

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railings. Among those there were some French schoolchildren on a trip

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and three police officers coming back from a commendation ceremony.

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It seems two people were killed on Westminster Bridge. Moments later

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around the corner, an attacker stabbed a police officer within the

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grounds of the Houses of Parliament. That police officer was killed, we

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later found out. We also discover that one of his colleagues had shot

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dead the assailant. The country's top counterterror police officer

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Mark Rowley updated us a short time ago. As you know, we have declared

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this terrorism incident and the counterterrorism command are

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carrying out a full investigation. The attack started when a car was

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driven over Westminster Bridge, hating and injuring a number of

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members of the public including three police officers on their way

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back from a commendation ceremony -- hitting and injuring. A car crash

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near Parliament and at least one man, armed with a knife, continued

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the attack and try to enter parliament. Sadly I can confirm that

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four people have died, including the police officer protecting Parliament

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and one man we believe to be the attacker, who was shot by a police

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firearms officer. The officer's family have been made aware. At

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least 20 people have been injured. As part of long established and well

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rehearsed plans, Parliament has been locked down and the Met responded

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with plans for a marauding terrorist attack, including uniformed and

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specialist firearms officers. My thoughts are with all those affected

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by today's attacks, as a service we have lost one of road as he acted to

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protect the public and his colleagues. This is the day we

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planned for but would hope would never happen. Sadly it is a reality.

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We will continue to do all we can to protect the people of London.

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Much of Westminster has been unlocked down this afternoon and the

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consequences of what happened remain because there are a number of road

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closures and disruption. We can see where they are, Parliament Square,

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Whitehall, Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Victoria Street all

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the way to the junction with Broadway, Victoria Embankment up to

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Embankment tube station, an area which remains closed off while

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police continue their investigations. What happens now? We

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have lost the light in the last half hour or so, Scotland Yard just over

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the way has lost one of their own, and focus will be on Scotland Yard

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and their investigation, which will be under way. The counterterrorism

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command are leading this. Tomorrow was meant to be a joyous day for the

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Metropolitan Police, the Queen was supposed to be opening venue

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promises, they have only been every couple of months, but it takes on a

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complete the different dynamic -- supposed to be opening their

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premises. Four people have died, including a police officer, and this

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investigation is under way. Thank you.

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Police have appealed for anyone with mobile phone footage or who

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witnessed what happened to contact them. Gareth Berg -- Gareth Kirby

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spoke to one eyewitness. The roads by Parliament are normally

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crowded with Londoners and tourists and hundreds today will have seen

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something they never wanted to witness. Londoners like this man, a

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kitchen porter from Edmonton. I hear bang, bang twice, no more. Twice.

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Kabasele was in Parliament Square to meet a friend but believes he heard

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shots and then witnessed the consequences.

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The first person to arrive in that incident is me. I see man lying in

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the floor, friends of Parliament door, actually, it was full of

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blood. -- in front of Parliament door. I said to myself this was not

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an accident, because I see a man, blood coming from one place, his

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head. Others not so close but impacted in some way, several

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servants at the Treasury here leaving work early after these

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events. And also affected, a management consultant from Denmark

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who had come to London for a conference. Her day was suddenly

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interrupted. We saw the police came out and they were kind of scared, we

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could see the police cars were running fast and pushing people away

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and we saw more police coming in with weapons, a helicopter landed on

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the grass in front of the building. I am OK even though I am shocked.

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A shocking day for those close to the scene, one they will not forget.

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If you have any footage, police ask you to send it to the address on

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screen. That addresses

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ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk. The current threat level in the UK

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for an international terrorist attack is severe,

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which means an attack has been highly likely

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for two and a half years. So, keeping London safe has long

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been a key priority of mayors and police chiefs alike,

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as our political correspondent Just four days into his new job

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as mayor and Sadiq Khan, like other city leaders before him,

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was seeing how the Met Police train Since August 2014, the capital,

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and the country have been An alert warning that

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an attack is highly likely. I've met with a commissioner on two

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occasions already to reassure myself as the Mayor of London that we are

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ready for, God forbid, a terrorist incident here in London.

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Within days he'd ordered a review of how well London was prepared

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Asking this man, Lord Harris, to check that we were up to the job.

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What we want to try and do is see, given the way in which the terrorist

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threat changes very rapidly, how the services are responding to those

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changing threat. Among his recommendations that

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more bollards are put outside public buildings,

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like the ones installed outside But also a recommendation of more

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armed response officers in London. In August last year the Met

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announced it was recruiting This is a reasonable response, it is

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not giving every police opposite in Britain a gun, not even everybody in

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the Met a gun. A controversial show of force

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for the announcement, perhaps, but it appears this unit may have

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been deployed today. That van they are in front

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of, clearly visible on Westminster Bridge

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after the attack this afternoon. London, of course, has been on high

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alert since the events of 7/7 when 52 innocent people were killed

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after terrorist attacks As the terror threat has developed,

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so have the warnings from senior If you hear gunshots, the best

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option is to evacuate. Two years ago, this video warning

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people how to behave if there was a terrorist attack

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at work was put out by police. You can watch this, it is four

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minutes long and it is practical, common-sense.

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It has been part of a message of vigilance put out by senior

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I think anyone seeing the intelligence we are seeing on a

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daily basis would be concerned. I think if you look at it alongside

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the capabilities we have today, there is no cause to be frightened,

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but people would be concerned. The reach of people overseas trying to

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influence people in the UK to commit attacks is significant.

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They have warned it was a matter of when, not if,

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Today it appears they've been proved right.

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You will have seen Lord Harris in that piece.

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Well, just a few months ago Lord Harris wrote a comprehensive

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report on the terror threat to the capital and how

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That was at the request of the Mayor of London.

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We can speak to Lord Harris now on the phone from Westminster,

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where he has been in lock down all day.

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First of all just tell me what's happening where you are.

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I am in the room that I was another four hours ago when the attack

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actually took place. Particularly when we heard bangs outside and

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shouting, because we're just in a that overlooks where I think the

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alleged perpetrator was shot, we barricaded ourselves in with desks

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and chairs and we have been waiting advice as to when it is safe to

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leave, which is yet to arrive. Obviously there are seven of this

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year, we are all deeply shocked. Obviously our thoughts are with the

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police officer's family and the family of those -- families of those

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who have been killed as part of this attack on Westminster Bridge, but

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the reality is that having looked at this in detail, only a few months

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ago, this was something that clearly we have to expecting some form. I'm

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pleased that it looks as though all the emergency and contingency

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measures seem to have clicked into place in the way that you would

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expect. We will unpick some of your thoughts about how prepared we work,

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but are you hearing any more about the current situation? Police are

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clear they think there was only one attacker but you are currently still

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in lockdown? I think they are following the procedure that she

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would expect them to follow which is until you can establish definitely

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that there is not an attacker, you have to assume there might be

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somebody there, which is why we have been told that when we are moved we

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will be moved essentially under escort through what is declared as a

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safe zone. The Palace of Westminster is an absolute rabbit warren of

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nooks and crannies and clearly the fear is, I think it is probably

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unlikely but it has to be taken seriously, that there is simply

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still hiding in the premises or, worse, somebody on the loose running

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around London. That is why police are taking these precautions and why

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they would be wanting to be absolutely satisfied that they have

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covered that all before they allow the normal movement to take place.

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Lord Harris, given your expertise and your review, one of your

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recommendations was extreme use of temporary barriers and more

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preparatory nurse for an attack on the Thames, we understand the attack

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started on Westminster Bridge. What is your assessment of how we coped?

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I think the immediate thing is that the response times... I are watching

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news media in this very small room we have been in with colleagues, it

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looks as if the emergency response was extremely rapid, external armed

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officers were on the scene very quickly, the Ambulance Service, all

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of that moving very rapidly, the air ambulance deployed. It all looks

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like it worked well, there will be a debrief under review afterwards,

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obviously. Could this have been prevented? One of the issues I

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looked at in my report was about vehicle borne attacks, I recommended

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increased use of bollards. There are some areas in London which are well

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protected by that but Westminster Bridge, those of you who know it, it

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is incredibly crowded most of the time and it is just a

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straightforward pavement, so somebody could try out of the

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traffic and into pedestrians, that looks as though that is what

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happened. Thank you, Lord Harris, reporting

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from lockdown Westminster. We wish him well and hope he is able to be

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released soon. If you're just joining us,

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police are dealing with what they've described as a terrorist

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incident at Parliament. An officer was stabbed to death

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jeering an attack on the Houses of Parliament.

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A woman also died and around ten other people were injured as a car

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ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge.

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A woman was pulled out of the river, alive but with serious injuries.

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Eyewitnesses have described what's thought to have been a second car

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Nearby a man wielding a knife was seen running through the gates

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of the Palace of Westminster, where he stabbed an officer.

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And the BBC understands that the Foreign Officer Minister,

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Tobias Ellwood, spent 15 minutes giving mouth to mouth resuscitation

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to the police officer who was stabbed at Westminster,

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Police are telling us this evening that additional officers -

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including firearms officers - were immediately sent to the scene.

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Extra armed and unarmed police officers will be on duty

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Joining me now is Professor John Gearson, Professor

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of National Security Studies at Kings' College.

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We hoped we'd never see these sorts of scenes again,

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but our security services have been preparing for this for months.

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What's your assessment of the response?

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I think it is clear from the nature of the attack that lots of the

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passive security measures prevented the vehicles being able to drive

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against the main gates into Parliament, the vehicle had to go

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along the pavement from the middle of the bridge going through

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pedestrians. What we have seen is a combination of the attacks we have

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seen in Europe and the rest of the world, vehicles used to drive

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against completely innocent civilians and individual violent

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attacks against members of the security services, police or the

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military using knives in this case. It is almost impossible to be

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completely invincible in these situations, yet a police officer has

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been stabbed to death, he Mr Bean surrounded by other armed officers,

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that is an area for concern? -- he must have been surrounded by other

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armed officers. Parliament is probably one of the best protected

:16:54.:16:56.

places in the world but it is also meant to be open to members of the

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public to come in and out, so there is a desire not to turn it into

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something isolated from society. We don't know the details but the

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officer stabbed was probably one of the officers right up front of

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house, at the point at which public as to Parliament, hundreds every

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day, want their photograph taken standing in front of these quite

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flimsy gates which allow vehicles in and out of Parliament. What happened

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thereafter I think demonstrates the resilience of Parliamentary

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security, the individual is not able to go any further other than a few

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steps inside the front of Parliament. Police have said,

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Assistant Commander Mark Rowley, said they believe the attacker was

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working alone yet we see armed officers on the streets of London

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tonight, is that a message of reassurance? Yes, there was a

:17:46.:17:49.

concern that there might be individuals choosing to imitate the

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actions of this... If it turns out to be an individual. But before they

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are sure who they were and that they were working alone there might be a

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presumption that there are others thinking about going out and doing

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an attack, it is appropriate that the Commissioner to talk in these

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terms. Our systems worked but it has demonstrated a certain level of

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ability that you have to accepted living in a free society. Thank you

:18:14.:18:16.

so much for your analysis. So, as you've been hearing,

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police are dealing with a major terrorist incident in which three

:18:18.:18:20.

people have died. Around ten people were injured

:18:21.:18:22.

when a car ploughed into pedestrians A woman was pulled out of the river,

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alive but with serious injuries. NHS London and the London Ambulance

:18:25.:18:28.

Service have been working closely with other emergency services.

:18:29.:18:31.

Our reporter Yvonne Hall is at King's College Hospital,

:18:32.:18:33.

which has been receiving patients What's the latest that you have?

:18:34.:18:48.

Tonight at least five people injured in the terrorist attack are being

:18:49.:18:52.

treated here at King's College Hospital. It is not known yet who

:18:53.:18:57.

they are or how badly hurt they are, the tonight the hospital has

:18:58.:19:00.

declared a major incident and urges the public not to come to A unless

:19:01.:19:06.

absolutely crucial. As you have heard, police have confirmed four

:19:07.:19:10.

people killed and 20 injured in the attack, including several other

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police officers, a group of French schoolchildren and a woman rescued

:19:14.:19:18.

from the Thames. Many of those have been taken to Saint Thomas's

:19:19.:19:21.

Spittal, which is closest to Parliament, a doctor there is a bad

:19:22.:19:25.

one person had died from her injuries and others were being

:19:26.:19:28.

treated the catastrophic injuries. Tonight all the medical teams

:19:29.:19:31.

involved in the aftermath of the attack are being praised for their

:19:32.:19:35.

hard work and dedication. Back to you. Thank you, Avon hall.

:19:36.:19:38.

One of the areas that has been closed off all afternoon

:19:39.:19:40.

Waterloo station has also been affected.

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From Waterloo Bridge on the edge of the police cordon,

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let's speak now to our transport correspondent Tom Edwards.

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And it feels a little bit busier on Waterloo Bridge, I think that is

:19:49.:20:02.

because Westminster Bridge is still closed due to the incident. I have

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spoken to commuters as they head home, a real sense of shock and

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bewilderment. This is what they had to say. It has been expected for a

:20:11.:20:16.

long time, it is amazing that have not been more attacks on London,

:20:17.:20:20.

they must have been doing a good job.

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Very shocked, I was in a meeting so I heard it rather late, only

:20:24.:20:28.

realised when I had lots and lots of texts and messages from family and

:20:29.:20:31.

friends. Quite shaky because we are quite

:20:32.:20:35.

close, just over the river, but it was bound to happen at some stage, I

:20:36.:20:40.

feel. If we look at the roads, Waterloo

:20:41.:20:45.

Bridge is running OK at the moment. If we look at the jam Cams, this is

:20:46.:20:50.

the area to the south of Westminster Bridge, normally it would be very

:20:51.:20:54.

busy, nothing going through at the moment due to the cordons. This is

:20:55.:20:58.

the River Thames, only police boats have been using this section of the

:20:59.:21:03.

Thames all afternoon, we have been there that long. Trains are running,

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Westminster chewed station is still closed, British Transport Police

:21:09.:21:11.

have said they are putting more officers on to their network to

:21:12.:21:16.

reassure passengers. Thank you, Tom Evans at Waterloo Bridge.

:21:17.:21:17.

The Mayor has already been speaking about the tremendous bravery

:21:18.:21:19.

displayed by security services this afternoon.

:21:20.:21:20.

Our political editor, Tim Donovan is at City Hall.

:21:21.:21:31.

They closed at City Hall to the public shortly after news reached

:21:32.:21:37.

them of what had happened at Westminster. The mayor has been here

:21:38.:21:42.

all afternoon, quite evidently has been in regular contact with police,

:21:43.:21:46.

the gold command. In a statement released earlier he said he had been

:21:47.:21:50.

speaking to the acting Commissioner, Craig Mackey, who as we have heard

:21:51.:21:55.

is not somebody we have been hearing from publicly because he is a

:21:56.:22:00.

significant witness. The mayor said in his statement he was thinking of

:22:01.:22:07.

all the families involved, as you say, he praised the bravery of the

:22:08.:22:10.

emergency services. It was not clear at the time that the statement was

:22:11.:22:13.

issued that he knew a police officer had died but clearly that will add

:22:14.:22:17.

to the sense of reassurance, what was perhaps expected from him on

:22:18.:22:23.

this day as he makes his way to this Cabinet committee, Cobra at

:22:24.:22:27.

Whitehall, as well as being given an update on the counterterrorist

:22:28.:22:31.

operation and whether it is a closed incident there will be discussion

:22:32.:22:34.

about how to get Westminster back to normal as soon as possible and to

:22:35.:22:38.

how you provide reassurance. The mayor today ineffective speaking for

:22:39.:22:42.

the city, not just its inhabitants, but the world as well -- mayor today

:22:43.:22:46.

in effect is speaking the city. We'll have the latest on this

:22:47.:22:48.

developing story in a moment - let's just pause now for a quick

:22:49.:22:51.

look at the weather -- with Tomasz Schafernaker. The

:22:52.:22:59.

rain will return tonight, it was pretty soggy for many others today.

:23:00.:23:07.

The rain has push towards the east but will probably return later. I

:23:08.:23:11.

think it will be dry across the capital for the time being, then the

:23:12.:23:15.

rain will return Gerina the latter part of the evening and overnight.

:23:16.:23:19.

Rain around by the time we get to first thing on Thursday.

:23:20.:23:27.

Temperatures overnight 506 degrees. Touch five or 6 degrees. The rain

:23:28.:23:32.

hangs around for a time but by around midday we will start to see

:23:33.:23:36.

the sunshine creeping through, it will be a bit breezy. A better day

:23:37.:23:42.

tomorrow on the weather front, still not desperately mild, temperatures

:23:43.:23:46.

around ten or 12 degrees. Tomorrow evening it looks like maybe a few

:23:47.:23:50.

spots of rain once again, nothing too heavy. It looks like the rain

:23:51.:23:54.

would stay to the south of the capital. Friday looks like a pretty

:23:55.:23:58.

strong breeze coming out of the East North East but at least it will be

:23:59.:24:03.

mostly dry, this is the start of a fairly settled period of weather,

:24:04.:24:07.

Friday looks fairly bright, as far as the outlook is concerned, the

:24:08.:24:13.

weekend is looking pretty dry. Not a promising clear blue skies, the

:24:14.:24:17.

temperatures will rise next week we could be back into the high teens,

:24:18.:24:21.

so some good news. Back to you, Alex.

:24:22.:24:24.

So, we were always told another terrorist attack

:24:25.:24:26.

here in London wasn't a matter of if, but when.

:24:27.:24:30.

Police are treating this as a major terrorist incident.

:24:31.:24:35.

So what's been the mood amongst Londoners as the capital reels

:24:36.:24:37.

Louisa Preston has been finding out.

:24:38.:24:43.

I was just walking across the bridge and suddenly a bus stopped and

:24:44.:24:48.

everybody started screaming and people came off the bus and they

:24:49.:24:52.

seemed very upset, then I saw what appeared to be a trainer by the side

:24:53.:24:56.

of the road, on the other side of the road there was a body, when I

:24:57.:25:00.

looked further rep there was another body and when I looked over the side

:25:01.:25:03.

of the bridge there appeared to be a body in the water as well.

:25:04.:25:08.

As we pulled onto Westminster Bridge we saw people laying on the bridge,

:25:09.:25:14.

then the SWAT team turned up, the paramedics, they asked us to abandon

:25:15.:25:24.

our vehicles. About to go into New Palace Yard,

:25:25.:25:28.

which is where the attack was taking place. And was met by about 40

:25:29.:25:34.

people running towards me saying get back, get back, there's been

:25:35.:25:39.

shooting, there's been shooting. Everybody was just shellshocked,

:25:40.:25:43.

wondering where to look, what had happened, then the sort of

:25:44.:25:47.

realisation and the security personnel and paramedics moving in.

:25:48.:25:52.

For passers-by, and this unlike myself coming out just afterwards,

:25:53.:25:58.

you are completely mesmerised by the scene confronting you -- and people

:25:59.:26:03.

like myself coming out afterwards. It is on my doorstep and it is very

:26:04.:26:06.

frightening for everybody here, including all the visitors in London

:26:07.:26:08.

today. The thoughts of Londoners caught up

:26:09.:26:15.

in the tragic events. Back now to our home affairs

:26:16.:26:19.

correspondent Nick Beake New Scotland Yard, four dead, 20 injured

:26:20.:26:24.

in the attack on Westminster Bridge, police will be asked questions about

:26:25.:26:28.

how this could happen but London has been on the highest of alerts for a

:26:29.:26:32.

long time? For the past two and a half years

:26:33.:26:37.

the terror threat level has been rated as severe, that was raised in

:26:38.:26:41.

line with the emergence of the so-called Islamic State group, since

:26:42.:26:47.

then we have seen attacks in Paris, Nice, a year ago in Brussels and

:26:48.:26:51.

London has rejoined the dreadful list again. Police seem to believe

:26:52.:26:56.

it was a so-called lone wolf attack, someone acting alone, that they will

:26:57.:27:00.

take no questions and look for possible associates and whether the

:27:01.:27:03.

individual was involved in any wider web. For Londoners in the coming

:27:04.:27:08.

days they will see a difference, there will be more police on the

:27:09.:27:12.

streets, we're told that as a message of reassurance rather than

:27:13.:27:15.

the terror threat level being raised, it has not gone up today. We

:27:16.:27:20.

were told an attack would happen at some point but that does not make

:27:21.:27:24.

the pain and the shock for many people any easier to deal with when

:27:25.:27:28.

it finally comes. It certainly does not.

:27:29.:27:33.

Thank you. That's it from BBC London. Our colleagues on the news

:27:34.:27:37.

channel will continue the coverage as the situation in Westminster

:27:38.:27:40.

continues to develop. We will be back during the ten o'clock news

:27:41.:27:42.

but, for now, good evening.

:27:43.:27:45.

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