23/03/2017 Midlands Today

Police have arrested seven people in Birmingham,

following yesterday's terror attack in Westminster -

The arrests followed searches at three properties in Birmingham.

Police have identified the attacker as 52-year-old Khalid Masood,

they believe he'd been living here in the West Midlands.

Elizabeth Glinka is outside the property in Hagley Road

which has been the subject of a police search

for most of the day. Elizabeth, what's the latest?

tape has now gone. The police pulled tape has now gone. The police pulled

out of this property a short time ago. Men on the ground floor flat

were making their way back into the building. Police were here from late

last night searching all day, this is one of three properties in

Birmingham where raids took place and as a result, we now know seven

people were arrested. Let me give you a rundown

of what we know about the Birmingham arrests -

a 21-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man

were arrested at one address. A 26-year-old woman and three men

aged 28, 27 and 26 years old were arrested at a separate

address in Birmingham. And a 58-year-old man from another

property is also being detained. All were arrested on suspicion

of preparing for acts of terrorism. We're told the operation involves

hundreds of officers We now know that we believe the name

Khalid Masood is in fact a false name.

My colleague Giles Latcham was was following events as they unfolded.

In Winson Green, west of Birmingham city centre,

police search a former home of Khalid Masood, the man

they believe carried out yesterday's attack at Westminster.

My partner talked to him just once but it was just, how are you?

No other conversation. He was a very calm person.

Barely a mile away, the shutters came down at the premises

where the 4x4 car driven at speed across Westminster Bridge

An armed police officer was standing right there.

On the Hagley Road, this man, who didn't want to be identified,

looked on last night as police officers carrying automatic weapons

I didn't think it'd hit so close to home.

I am really shocked and concerned all this has happened.

So what do we know about Khalid Masood?

Born in Kent, he'd lived most recently in the West Midlands.

He had previous convictions for assault and possession

But significantly no terrorism offences.

Police are doing their job and if we let them do their job,

they can do a better job to make us all feel safe.

On the Hagley Road, a restaurant owner, who rented out

the flat raided by police, read a statement,

Like Londoners, it is business as usual for us in Birmingham.

And I shall be opening my restaurant as usual.

United we shall stand against such evil people carrying out

From the authorities too, a call for unity.

The people perpetrating these sort of things are a tiny minority.

And what we mustn't do is allow that small minority who are trying

to undermine our democracy, people trying to undermine

the peaceful way of life that we have, we are not

going to let them do it by forcing us apart.

For others, today was a day of reflection, reflecting

on the moment they saw terror up close.

Jayne Wilkinson from Sutton Coldfield was sightseeing

I saw a man running along with a very large knife,

not your standard flick knife that you pop in your pocket,

this was a big, almost kitchen-sized knife,

running towards the police officers behind the barriers.

That is when we heard the three shots as he disappeared.

This fast-moving inquiry is being led by the Metropolitan Police.

The attack was on our capital but an attack it now seems likely

that was conceived and planned in the second city.

People woke up to the news that police raids had taken

Our Special correspondent, Peter Wilson has been assessing

the reaction of communities and watched as the police

mounted high visibility patrols on our streets.

Birmingham's Council House, the city's flag at half-mast.

New Street Station, extra police officers to greet those

In the shadow of the Rotunda, officers in 4x4 vehicles, others

There is a lot of police around from earlier this morning.

The police just want to reassure the public they are in good hands

People do need reassurance and that is a good thing.

I feel quite protected and safe in the knowledge we have really good

We feel safe, this is our home, our country and we will stay together.

In Parliament today, one of the city's MPs

This attacker and people like him are not of my religion,

And we should condemn all of them who pretend to be

of a particular religion because they are not of religion.

If they were of a religion, they would not be carrying

out acts like this. We have to stay united and show them

they cannot win on these grounds, and we are here to stay.

This morning, people gathered together again

at the Holy Trinity Church, Birchfield.

There was comfort in a cup of tea and shared talk.

Birmingham is a city where communities, religions,

Birmingham, I hope we will be as strong as we always have been,

to stand tall, to support each other, to support our neighbours,

Early this morning, I was invited to a mosque in Balsall Heath.

Some of the earliest Muslim immigrants to Birmingham

What happened in London has been called an Islamist terrorist attack.

No one will accept this kind of action whether it is

Absolutely we are against any type of heinous act like this.

What can the Muslim community do to help the security services?

Any criminal act where we have information to help

an investigation, you should support the security services and provide

The message from the Prime Minister Theresa May was a simple one today.

That message has been echoed on the streets of Birmingham.

The people who live here have also given a simple piece of advice,

the only way the terrorists can win is if we, the people, are divided.

The extra patrols and security were not the result of any immediate

The police repeat that their operation is one of reassurance.

The NHS Trust which runs the Royal Stoke and County

hospitals has been placed into special financial measures.

The University Hospitals of North Midlands is one of ten

Trusts across England, listed as failing to meet

It will receive expert checks on issues such as rota planning -

to reduce their dependence on high-cost agency staff.

The Trust says it welcomes the extra support.

The children's charity, the NSPCC, says the number of child

sex offences recorded in the West Midlands has doubled

Between 2014 and 2015 there were 1,265 cases.

Last year that number rose to more than 2,500.

A national charity is warning the level of personal debt

in the West Midlands is getting worse.

Christians Against Poverty are currently supporting 487

That's an average of almost ?10,000 each.

Our reporter Amy Cole has been to meet a family in Birmingham

You want beans instead of vegetables?

For the past year, the Baylis family has been slowly

peeling away their debt. With a budget in place,

Kelly's now spending ?60 to ?70 on the weekly shop.

Is that enough? Yes.

Once you know what you are cooking, the ingredients,

and batch cooking helps. How much did you used to spend?

Next door, their debt coach Owen O'Brien is looking

through the budget plan with her husband Karl to see

The family got into difficulties when Karl lost his job and racked up

With two children to support, they turned

to Christians Against Poverty. The charity is unique

in that it sends debt advisers to people's homes.

And it helps clients by dealing directly with their creditors.

It is going to be difficult to actually work out

And that is often where people feel they can't do it or face it.

We come in and we stand in the gap for them,

we speak to the creditors for them, so all they have to do

is speak to us and we take that pressure off them.

It is very easy to stick to if you are prepared

to tighten your belt. I am not stressing about money

any more because I know what my budget is.

The family will continue to receive help until they become debt-free.

Amy Cole, BBC Midlands Today, Birmingham.

That's all from us for now, have a good night -

I'll leave you with the weather from Rebecca.

It has been a fine and dry day today.

We did have some cloud through the morning but started

to see it thinning and breaking and through this afternoon,

the sun managed to break through allowing for some pleasant

spells of sunshine, but with the breeze, it didn't quite

But for tonight, across the south of the region, we are going to keep

the clouds and temperatures there will hold up a little better.

Across the north, where we get some breaks, temperatures will fall away

and we could see some frost patches tomorrow.

Temperatures dropping down to between 3 and 6 Celsius,

so a chilly start but high pressure driving our weather as we head

towards the end of the week, keeping things nice and settled.

So for tomorrow, it will be a chilly start and we will eventually start

to see the sun burning through that cloud.

And it will be a dry and bright afternoon.

Lots of lovely sunshine to come. The winds will be a touch lighter

as well, so temperatures getting up to 11 or 12 Celsius.

They could do a touch better than that.

As we head through the weekend, we're going to keep that

high pressure as well, staying lovely and settled

into Saturday and into Mothering Sunday as well.

Lots more sunshine on the way and temperatures steadily getting

There's information on all of that in the national forecast next.

I will leave you with the outlook for the next couple of days.

weather continue into the second part of the weekend. 1415 degrees.

Still quite breezy. Here's Thomas with the national picture.

Good evening. Some good news on the weather front of this evening. The

weekend is looking sunny for most of the UK. We have got clear skies

across the country and it