London attack: Muslim Labour adviser working in Parliament describes how terror unfolded in Westminster

A Muslim-born political adviser working in Parliament has described what it was like to witness the London terror attack unfold that killed four and injured at least 40.

Labour adviser Imran Ahmed told how he, along with other Muslim or Muslim-born colleagues, shared a “different sadness” knowing the attack had likely been perpetrated by an Islamist extremist.

Mr Ahmed, who was a former special adviser to MP Hilary Benn, told The Independent he felt an "inevitable sense of responsibility” due to his Muslim heritage.

“It’s an added sense of responsibility. There's a sense you stand apart from those that do these sorts of things and that you're more empowered than most members of your community to make things better,” he said.

“But you feel a sense of empowerment and purpose because you do work here and you do have the capacity to make things change. As a Labour adviser you feel like you are in a position to help.”

Mr Ahmed now identifies as an atheist, though he was brought up a Muslim and his parents both continue to be religious.

“It’s not something that comes to mind very often - I don't much think about my heritage or my parents’ religion,” he said.

“But after an attack like this it’s the sharing of that burden that really makes the soul lighter because you know that together, the rest of us who are of Muslim faith or descent can make a difference.”

Mr Ahmed, who was in Portcullis House when the attack occurred, returned to Parliament today and described the atmosphere as “very, very quiet."

“It’s very, very quiet outside and inside, everyone’s being a bit warmer to each other than they already are and there’s a sense of purpose," he said.

He also issued a scathing criticism of the far-right, labelling Tommy Robinson a “hatemonger” after he launched into a tirade in front of Parliament yesterday that has been widely condemned as “Islamophobic” and “inflammatory.”

“I am as much anathema to those half-witted f***wit terrorist chumps as a Christian or a Jewish person or a Hindu. They hold us in contempt? F*** me, you have no idea how much I hold them in contempt,” Mr Ahmed wrote on Facebook.

“For their actions, their beliefs and how pathetic they are in not doing the work and having the true steel to see through their political goals without resorting to the cheap, vicious, nasty last resort of violence.”

It came as police announced the arrests of eight people in connection with the terror attack that brought bloodshed to the heart of London.

The Metropolitan Police's top anti-terror officer confirmed police have searched six addresses and made seven arrests.

The black-clad terrorist - who is believed to have been British-born - armed with two knives, mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and mowed his car through a crowd of people, including schoolchildren.

He was then shot dead by armed officers in the courtyard outside the Houses of Parliament after he stabbed Pc Keith Palmer, who died of his wounds.

Two members of the public, one believed to be Aysha Frade, a 43-year-old Spanish teacher who was on her way to pick her children up from school. The other man killed was in his fifties but has not yet been identified.