London attack: Four people dead and 20 injured in Westminster terror incident
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Your support makes all the difference.Four people were killed in the Westminster terror attack, police have confirmed.
The number includes the police officer who was stabbed and his attacker, Scotland Yard's top anti-terror officer Mark Rowley said.
The other two victims are understood to have died on the bridge, he added.
He also said at least 20 people had been injured.
Mr Rowley also said police believed there to have been only one suspect, although he said they were carrying out thorough checks.
The attacker, armed with two large knives, mowed down pedestrians with his car on Westminster Bridge, including schoolchildren, then rushed at the gates in front of the Houses of Parliament, stabbing a policeman before he was shot by armed officers.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror when gunfire rang out as the attacker approached a second officer within yards of the Houses of Parliament.
Mr Rowley told reporters outside New Scotland Yard: "This was a day we've planned for but hoped would never happen. Sadly it is now a reality."
Paramedics fought to save the officer's life and that of his attacker on the floor of the cobbled courtyard in front of Parliament, with Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood among those who rushed to help.
The police officer was wheeled away on a stretcher with his face covered.
Mr Ellwood, who lost his brother in the Bali bombing, could be seen pumping the officer's chest then standing above him, his hands and face smeared with blood.
Other armed officers, some in plain clothes and wearing balaclavas, swarmed around the yard just feet from where MPs had earlier attended Prime Minister's Questions.
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The person seen in the river has been recovered alive, according to officials.
A spokesman for the Port of London Authority, which looks after safety on the River Thames, said: "A female member of the public was recovered from the water near Westminster Bridge. She is alive but undergoing urgent medical treatment on a nearby pier. We believe she fell from the bridge."
He said the river has been closed from Vauxhall to Embankment "as part of the security response".
A Holyrood vote expected to back Nicola Sturgeon's calls for a second Scottish independence referendum has been put on hold following the terror attack in Westminster.
The Scottish Parliament suspended business in the wake of the incident at the Houses of Parliament, where an attacker stabbed a policeman before being shot by officers.
MSPs had been due to vote on whether the Scottish Government should seek discussions with the Conservative administration at Westminster on the details of a section 30 order - the legal mechanism that would allow a second independence ballot to be held.
But with business in Holyrood suspended, that will now take place later.
Labour MP Mary Creagh told reporters: "They are clearing it floor by floor."It was very frightening, to see people running towards you, to hear that shots had been heard.""My thoughts are really with those people" who were victims of the attack, she said.
Police are treating Westminster as a terror incident, please send any pictures or video toukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk
Here is a full rundown of the existing security measures, provided by the Press Association. It's obviously likely that more will go into effect once the incident is over.
:: There are a number of entrances onto the parliamentary estate for staff and visitors but all are subject to security measures.
:: Visitors can enter through the Cromwell Green entrance and through the main doors at Portcullis House. Both entrances have airport-style security.
:: There are a number of entrances for holders of parliamentary security passes, MPs, palace staff etc, which are required to gain access to any one of the entrances. Armed police are stationed at all of the main entrances.
:: Armed police officers are always stationed on the Carriage Gates which is the main road entrance into Parliament. The entrance is always blocked by metal barricades and there are also car park-style barriers for vehicles on the way in and out of the palace.
:: Armed police are stationed throughout the palace itself.
:: Sniffer dogs are often seen on the parliamentary estate carrying out checks, including before major events such as Prime Minister's Questions.
:: Security incidents have occurred on the parliamentary estate over the years, most notably when Prime Minister's Questions was halted in May 2004.
:: This occurred after Fathers 4 Justice campaigners threw condoms filled with purple flour and glitter at Tony Blair, although it initially sparked fears that the Commons was under biological attack.
:: A glass screen was installed in the public gallery to prevent similar incidents.
:: An increased focus on the security of MPs emerged following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in her Batley and Spen constituency in June 2016.
:: A police hotline was set up for MPs to report threats made against them.
:: Figures released this week showed a specialist police team set up to investigate crimes against MPs, the Met's parliamentary liaison and investigation team, has probed more than 50 complaints in the six months of Mrs Cox's murder.
Staff from the Treasury are now being sent home, according to Independent journalist Matthew Murphy who is at the scene. They are being told to hide their passes as they do so, he says.
Bournemouth MP @Tobias_Ellwood helped injured policeman in Parliament - gave mouth-to-mouth. His brother was killed in Bali terrorist attack
"We know there are a number of casualties including police officer," said Commander BJ Harrington from the Met Police during a press conference just now. "But at this stage we cannot confirm numbers or the nature of these injuries."
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