London terror incident: House of Commons session suspended after car and knife attack
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Your support makes all the difference.Proceedings at the House of Commons have been suspended after a man was shot outside Parliament.
Staff inside the building were told to stay in their offices. MPs that were in the chamber when sitting was suspended were told to stay inside the House of Commons.
Commons Leader David Lidington has told MPs a "police officer has been stabbed" and the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police" following a "serious" incident within the parliamentary estate.
Parliament will be in shutdown until further notice, the Speaker said.
Officials made the announcement in the chamber as parliamentary activity was going on.
London police said they were called to a firearms incident on Westminster Bridge near the British parliament on Wednesday.
"We were called at approx 2:40 pm to reports of an incident at Westminster Bridge. Being treated as a firearms incident - police on scene," the Metropolitan police said on Twitter.
Dennis Burns, who was just entering Parliament for a meeting when the security alert happened, told the Press Association: "As I was coming through the doors at Portcullis House, a policeman grabbed someone who was coming in and threw him out.
"As we were coming though the glass doors I was told by one security guard to get out while another one told me to get in.
"As I walked in I heard a security guard get a radio message saying 'a policeman has been stabbed'.
"Then I walked in as police officers and security start rushing out of the front doors on to the street.
"When I got inside I was wondering what the hell was going on and I saw dozens of panicked people running down the street. The first stream was around 30 people and the second stream was 70 people.
"It looked like they were running for their lives."
Commons leader David Lidington said the House of Commons would "remain in lockdown" until further notice.
He said: "I shall endeavour to do the very best I can, both at the despatch box and by communicating with my opposite numbers in other political parties, to ensure that Members are kept aware of what is happening but at the moment the very clear advice from the police and the director of security in the House is that we should remain under suspension and that the chamber should remain in lockdown until we receive advice that it is safe to go back to normal procedures."
Shadow leader of the House Valerie Vaz said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the police officer and to thank the police and all the security services and all the staff for looking after us so well."
Mr Lidington, in a later statement to MPs, confirmed the House of Commons would adjourn for the day.
He said: "There have been conversations through the usual channels.
"I hope the House would agree that in the current circumstances it would not be right to continue with today's business."
MPs shouted in favour of a motion to adjourn the sitting.
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The London Eye is in lockdown, and most of the attractions around the area are thought to be doing the same 
1/5 There is an ongoing incident on Westminster Bridge and in the vicinity of the Palace of Westminster
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2/5 This is an ongoing incident and, as yet, we cannot provide any firm details as to what has transpired
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3/5 At present we are holding all of our guests within our attractions as per tried and tested security procedures.
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4/5 The safety and security of our guests and staff will always be our number one priority.
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Theresa May's spokesman: "The Prime Minister was brought back to Number 10 from Parliament. She is currently monitoring the situation."And: The office of the Serjeant at Arms, who handles security in the House of Commons, said: "We are aware that there has been an incident that has taken place."At this early stage, we cannot comment further."
Here is a report from Tom Peck, The Independent's political sketchwriter, who works from Westminster:
Within half an hour parliament was in lockdown. The chamber cleared of MPs, the restaurants of diners. Parliamentary passes no longer opened any door, any gate.
Westminster's press offices occupy the top floor of the palace along from Big Ben and round to Westminster Hall, right over the courtyard where a car smashed into a gate, tourists and pedestrians screamed and, seconds later gunshots were heard.
Chefs, maintenance men, reporters massed at the windows. One had a video of the Prime Minister's car, understood to be Theresa May hurriedly driven away.
Ambulance staff treated a man by the entrance to Westminster Palace, at least thirty metres inside the perimeter.
Half an hour after the incident, along the Committee Corridor, where MPs meet for meetings all week, another wave of shouting could be heard. Through the windows, anti-terror police could be seen, in their air force blue uniforms, barking instructions to one another, apparently securing the building.
Van driver Mitchell Spree, 27, told The Independent he was driving along Embankment when he saw people being evacuated from nearby buildings.He said: "Then we pulled on to the bridge. A lady was laying at the entrance to the bridge. There was about five more people."She was crying. She was speaking to the paramedic. I don't know what the others were like. The police asked us to leave our van. It's still on the bridge."It's shocking."A second witness, Tawhid Tanim, told The Independent he heard three shots - "bang, bang, bang" - some 10 or 15 metres from the Cafe Nero coffee bar where he was waiting for friends.He said: "It was so loud. People were running like crazy."He saw the aftermath of the car striking railings outside Parliament, he said. Whether someone, or something, was underneath, he could not be sure."I couldn't see it properly. I started running."Police officers told the crowds to "just keep running," he said.
Jess, 19, says she heard two gunshots before police started arriving and pushing them back.
Another group of students had headed on to Westminster Bridge, where one is feared to have been injured
PA reports that an announcement in Parliament said there was a suspicious package in a vehicle and the bomb squad had been called which halted a planned evacuation.
'We came this way, they went that way,' says Brad, 19. 'We just want to know if our friend is ok'
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