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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Confirmation that at least one person has been killed in the attack comes through a doctor speaking to the Press Association.
A report from Joe Watts, the Independent's political editor:
By 4pm, New Palace Yard, just inside the gates to the parliamentary estate, had been completely cordoned off. On one side of the driveway was an ambulance with all of its doors open and on the paving stones medical supplies lay next to what appeared to be a body covered by a white blanket.
Nearby the cordon, four armed police officers looked across at the scene while forensic officers collected evidence. Just outside the gates, around a dozen squad cars, three fire engines and other vehicles had parked up on parliament square with a flurry of officers and paramedics walked between them.
Just around the corner, on Westminster Bridge Road, the vehicle could still be seen where it had crashed into the fence of the parliamentary estate.
The U.S. State Department says it is closely monitoring the incident outside London's Parliament and urged Americans in London to avoid the area. Spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday: "We stand ready to assist in any way the U.K. authorities would find helpful." He added that the U.S. Embassy in London is closely following the news and stands ready to help any affected Americans. He said: "Our hearts go out to those affected."
Multiple witnesses have confirmed to news organisations that a body was seen floating in the water near Westminster Bridge, following the attack.
Matt Haikin, from London, 44, said he was in shock after seeing the aftermath of the crash on the bridge.He said: "I just saw a car that had clearly driven off the road into the fence outside Parliament."As I went past I noticed there was a body next to it and quite a lot of blood and people standing around."Fairly shortly after I heard some shots, at which point it was clear it wasn't just an accident, something else was going on."He then moved to look through the Palace of Westminster gates and saw "a lot of people, people in uniform, I think I saw a couple of bodies on the ground, I couldn't tell you if they'd been asked to lie down or if they were injured".
Officials at the Scottish Parliament say that it will increase security with immediate effect after the attack, but that it has no intelligence to suggest there's a specific threat to Scotland.
Witness Richard Tice said he "counted between eight and 10 prostrate figures on the ground" after he came out of Westminster underground station and moved on to Westminster Bridge.He told Sky News: "My understanding from someone who was standing next to me was that a car had driven along the whole pavement knocking people over and that is why there were many injuries. The people lying on the ground were starting to be attended to by a paramedic."
MPs are still lcoked inside the chamber, after Parliament was placed in lockdown immediately after the attack, Hilary Benn MP has confirmed.
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