LONDON – A man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a car crashed into barriers outside Britain’s Houses of Parliament, police said on Tuesday.
The vehicle swerved into cyclists and pedestrians shortly after 07:30 BST, injuring three people.
The suspect, in his late 20s, is not believed to be known to MI5 or counter-terrorism police, and is not co-operating with officers.
https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1029328434173030400
There was nobody else in the vehicle, which remained at the scene and was searched. No weapons have been recovered so far, according to Britain’s Metropolitan Police.
At this stage, we are treating this as a terrorist incident and the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading the investigation, according to a statement from the police.
https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/1029282225462890498
A number of people were injured as a result of the collision and have been taken to hospital. By far none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
London Ambulance Service said it had treated three people at the scene for injuries.
Westminster tube station was briefly closed for entry and exit, and streets around Millbank and Parliament Square were cordoned off.
Parliament is not currently sitting, the BBC reported.
A man has been arrested after a car was driven into barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. Police have confirmed that the incident is being treated as a terrorist act. All Londoners, like me, utterly condemn all acts of terrorism on our city. https://t.co/A3tADzEv3j pic.twitter.com/ULIHRncdMO
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) August 14, 2018
The response of Londoners today “shows that we will never be cowed, intimidated or divided by any terrorist attack”, London Mayor Sadiq Khan says in a statement.
In March last year, a terrorist attack took place outside the Palace of Westminster in London, seat of the British Parliament.
A man drove a car into pedestrians on the pavement along the south side of Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street. He then crashed the car into the perimeter fence of the Palace grounds and ran into New Palace Yard, where he fatally stabbed an unarmed police officer. Six people died, including the attacker, and at least 50 people were injured in the attack.
