Parliament car crash - as it happened: Police search three properties as focus falls on terror suspect after 'appalling incident'
UK's terror threat level remains 'severe', Theresa May says, meaning fresh attack is highly likely
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Your support makes all the difference.Counter-terror police searched three properties in the Midlands after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament, injuring three people.
Three police forces were involved in raids in Birmingham and Nottingham on Tuesday afternoon following the arrest of a 29-year-old British man on suspicion of terror offences.
Armed officers had swarmed Westminster at about 7.40am on Tuesday, when a silver Ford Fiesta ploughed into cyclists and pedestrians outside parliament before being halted by security barriers.
Images posted to social media showed a man, wearing a black puffer jacket and surrounded by officers, being led away in handcuffs from the hatchback. Detectives said later on Tuesday they believed the car had been driven to London from Birmingham overnight.
The Fiesta was spotted in the Tottenham Court Road area at 1.25am, the Metropolitan Police said, where it remained until about 6am. It was then driven to Westminster.
“There was not a police car in pursuit of the vehicle” when it crashed, Neil Basu, the Met’s head of counter-terrorism, told reporters.
Three people were hurt in the crash, one seriously.
Theresa May said that terrorists would “never succeed” in dividing the UK, after Donald Trump blamed “crazy animals” for the attack in a tweet.
The crash was an “appalling incident”, the prime minister said, adding that the terror threat facing the country remained “severe”, meaning another attack was highly likely.
See below how we covered developments in this story
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The Metropolitan Police has warned that specially-trained officers will be patrolling the Westminster area today, on the lookout for people "displaying minute signs of anxiety".
The Project Servator officers are trained "to identify anyone who may be in the area for terrorist or other criminal purposes", the force said.
It added: "These officers are both in uniform and plain clothes and will confront anyone they suspect may be in an area for criminal purposes."
'Political heart of UK'
Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute, said Westminster was a significant target as the “political heart of the UK”.
“If you’re trying to make a political statement for a terrorist organisation this is the place where you’re visibly striking at the government,” he told The Independent.
“It’s very clearly going to have an impact, it’s a guaranteed way of making sure you get attention that you might not get if you did it somewhere else.”
Mr Pantucci's analysis echoed Ben Wallace, the security minister, who said earlier that "the Palace of Westminster, and what it stands for - our values, our tolerance, our liberal society - is always going to be a target for those people whose beliefs directly we challenge".
"Iconic symbols are often what terrorists go for. If they can't go for the police or the armed forces directly, they will choose to go where our values are symbolised," he told BBC News.
Roger Godsiff, the Labour MP for Birmingham Hall Green, has said the Westminster crash suspect lived in his constituency.
He tweeted: "My deepest sympathies to the cyclists and pedestrians who were injured in the attack.
"I have told the police and security services that they have my total support in doing whatever is necessary to protect the public in London and Birmingham."
Police are searching two properties in Birmingham and one flat in Nottingham following the crash in Westminster this morning.
A 29-year-old British man, who was born abroad according to ministers, is being questioned by police after he was arrested on suspicion of terror offences. He was "believed to have been living" in Mr Godsiff's constituency, the MP said.
'Biggest target'
Here, our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden analyses what we know about the Westminster crash and its potential significance.
Information has been coming in about the searches in Nottingham. A flat is being combed there and two other properties, in Birmingham, are also being searched.
Plain-clothed police officers could be seen outside a property in Peveril Street in Nottingham. Neighbours claimed the house, which is shared by six occupants, was home to six Sudanese people.
Ibrahim Ahmed, 24, who lives in the same terrace, said: "It's Sudanese people who live there."
Benas Butkevicius, who lives next door to the house that was raided, said: "I was asleep when it happened. I just heard some banging and scratching. I work night shifts. At about 4pm I woke up to the scratching."
An occupant of the house said: "They thought the car was insured or registered here but it isn't. They were asking about a silver Fiesta. They said they were investigating what happened in Westminster."
Additional reporting by PA
Security minister Ben Wallace has called for the public to be vigilant about odd behaviour and report it to police to help stop future terror attacks.
The MP warned that as attackers use "everyday items" such as knives and cars to strike a "free and open" society, individuals, community leaders and car hire businesses among others should "get ahead of the game".
Mr Wallace also suggested that terrorists were driven to pick "nearby" items - as instructed by terrorist grooming materials, he said - because of the difficulty in obtaining guns as a result of police and Government efforts.
His calls came hours after a 29-year-old man struck a barrier outside the Houses of Parliament at about 7.40am on Tuesday using a silver Ford Fiesta.
The British national, who was arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terror, left a number of people injured after crashing into cyclists.
PA
Sajid Javid, the home secretary, has spoken about the incident following a briefing this evening.
He stressed the importance of keeping "an open mind" about the suspected terror attack.
Speaking at the Home Office, Mr Javid said he was limited in what he could say as the investigation was live.
He said: "There are understandably a lot of questions about the incident and what has happened. I think people will appreciate it's only just happened in the early hours of this morning.
"The briefing I have received from counter-terrorism police and the security services is that work is ongoing and they are doing everything they can to find out more about the incident.
"We must keep an open mind about what has happened and I'm sure when they do have more information they will say more."
An image has emerged of the Nottingham property searched by police this afternoon.
Two properties in Birmingham were also raided after a silver Ford Fiesta ploughed into cyclists outside Parliament on Tuesday.
A 29-year-old British man was arrested in Westminster on suspicion of terror offences and is being questioned.
Detectives believe the Fiesta was driven to London from Birmingham overnight on Monday.
The property on the left, in Nottingham's Peveril Street, was searched by police after a 29-year-old British man was arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terror. It followed a car crash outside Parliament on Tuesday morning. (PA)
In this story our reporter Chris Baynes examines Donald Trump's latest Twitter intervention regarding London, and his history of feuding with Sadiq Khan, the city's mayor.
Earlier today Mr Trump lashed out at the "animals" he said were behind the suspected Westminster terror attack.
It came amid a string of tweets on subjects ranging from his former adviser, Omarosa Manigault, to Russian election meddling and the US president's dissatisfaction with his attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
After the crash outside parliament early this morning, the British Transport Police said it would increase its patrols across the UK.
Transport officers will be more visible on trains and at stations, the force said.
The reassurance effort was followed some hours later by a statement from Sajid Javid, who praised Londoners "for their resolve and resilience".
"This is not the first time we have seen an incident of this type on the streets of London," said Mr Javid, who returned to the UK from his family holiday following the crash.
The home secretary also paid tribute to those injured, as well as to emergency workers.
"My thoughts are with the members of the public injured in this attack," he said. "Thankfully none of them received life-threatening injuries and I would like to take this opportunity to wish them a speedy recovery.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the emergency services for the speed at which they responded and apprehended immediately the suspect.
"This is a reminder to us all of the work they do - day in, day out - to keep us safe."
Both Mr Javid and Theresa May made a point of emphasising unity in their public statements today, as did London's mayor Sadiq Khan.