welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: britain's prime minister has condemned what she called a "sick and depraved terrorist attack". the attacker drove into pedestrians on westminster bridge, causing catastrophic injuries. and then i heard a big sort of crunch, sounded like a car crash, but almost that crunch of a wheel on a kerb. i saw the vehicle mount the kerb and it was coming out so quickly, and i saw some people being hit in front of me. on the other side of the road there was a body and when i looked further up, there was another body. and then, when i looked over the side of the bridge, there appeared to be a body in the water as well. police shot dead the attacker. they say they know his identity and believe he was motivated by international terrorism. islamic—extremism. world leaders have condemned the attack. the lights on the eiffel

tower we re attack. the lights on the eiffel tower were turned off as a mark of respect. the british prime minister has condemned what she called a "sick and depraved terrorist attack" in london, that left a policeman, three civilians and the attacker dead. the officer has been named as constable keith palmer, who was a8, a husband and a father. the country's top anti—terrorism officer has said the police are assuming the attacker was motivated by islamic—extremism. at least a0 people were injured including members of a school party from france, five south korean visitors, two romanian tourists and three other policemen. this was the sequence of events which started unfolding at two forty on wednesday afternoon local time. the man drove a car across westminster bridge, mounting the pavement, hitting many pedestrians, killing at least two of them and causing some very serious injuries before crashing into railings outside the houses of parliament he then ran

through the gates of the palace of westminster armed with a knife and stabbed a police officer who later died, despite the best efforts of a team of emergency workers and a uk foreign office minister. the attacker was shot dead by police who rushed to the scene in the shadow of big ben. scotland yard's top anti—terrorism officer — acting deputy commissioner mark rowley — gave this update late on wednesday evening. one of those who died today was a police officer, pc keith palmer, a member of our parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. keith, aged 48 had 15 years service, and was a husband and father. he was someone who left for work today expecting to return home at the end of his shift and he had every right to expect that would happen. i can also now confirm that there are three members of the public who have lost their lives in the attack. specially trained family liaison officers have been deployed to support them.

and as i confirmed earlier, the suspected attacker was shot dead by an armed officer. therefore now in total we have five people who died today. i will not comment on this stage as to the identity of the attacker but our working assumption is that he was inspired by international terrorism. i should also say at this stage, that we believe approximately a0 people have been injured, including several with serious injuries, including three police officers, two of whom are in a serious condition. our political editor, laura kuenssberg was inside parliament when the attack took place. run. go. move. gunfire. the sound of gunfire replacing the bells of big ben. man shouting: go!

go, move yourselves, go! the centre of our government, normally a safe place. not today. members of the public, politicians, the hundreds of staff for whom this is work. in politics, for some, a home from home. sprinting for safety outside. the swat team turned up with paramedics, and they asked us to abandon our vehicle and just walk away. there was a body and when i looked further up, there was another body. and then, when i looked over the side of the bridge, there appeared to be a body in the water as well. sick. to be honest, it is sick to witness these things. and right now, still, my hands are shaking. a car, a weapon, ploughing through members of the public on westminster bridge, normally a tourist spot.

today, a site of danger. two killed, many others seriously hurt. and then the car, only a couple of hundred yards away, careered around to smash into pa rliament‘s gates. a policeman gave his life to stop the attacker going further. the prime minister had been meeting cabinet colleagues in parliament. but was hurried out and then through westminster‘s backstreets to safety. and inside parliament, lockdown. i, with hundreds of others, bundled back from the front entrance, waiting through fear and confusion. a police officer told me someone was killed just yards outside. we heard three or four shots on the right, or which sounded like shots, and then everyone turned and ran back through here and then... well, we know as much as we know from now on in. but i think generally,

a lot of people were walking through that area and most people heard three or four shots. did you hear anything? just enormous noise at the front of portcullis house ten minutes ago. lots of police and security guards shouting, people running past the building, general sense of panic. everyone ordered to the back of the building until it was safe to do otherwise. there are at least a couple of 100 people here inside portcullis house. this is really the heart of where westminster does its business and we are all part of a lockdown after what has happened outside. a police officer has told me one man was shot out the front. a few mps have told me they have heard three or four gunshots as they were on their way to vote. this is obviously a place that is very tightly guarded at all times, but there is a sense of shock that, finally, it appears that something so serious has happened right here in the heart of westminster.

then, in the chamber that sat on through all sorts of situations, wars and peace, was interrupted. order! i am now going to suspend the sitting of the house. this house is now suspended, but please wait here. because this place was the focus of danger. mps and staff watched from their windows as the swat team arrived. is this the attacker? a first aid kit thrown in to help, emergency services trying to save him and his victims. while inside, those of us who came here to work today, or to visit or to be part of this place, waited tensely, corridors full of staff who couldn't leave and didn't want to stay, caught up in an attack which stopped the business of democracy.

it's just after five o'clock. we still don't really know what's going on. this group of students was brought here just for the day to see how parliament works. little did they know what kind of situation would unfold. and frankly, it's still very hard to believe what's really happened here today. tonight, the meaning of this attempt seems clear. the prime minister, obviously angered, and saddened, but resolute. these streets of westminster, home to the world's oldest parliament, are ingrained with a spirit of freedom that echoes in some of the furthest corners of the globe. and the values our parliament represents — democracy, freedom, human rights, the rule of law — command the admiration and respect of free people everywhere. that is why it is a target for those who reject those values. but let me make it clear today,

as i have had cause to do before, any attempt to defeat those values to violence and terror is doomed to failure. the human cost is only just becoming clear. we've declared this as a terrorist incident and the counterterrorism an attack that many in theory aspect that. but it is a shock to our parliament and country. whatever the motive to stop democracy in its track, a new awful page of history ina track, a new awful page of history in a place where every corner tells of our shared past. the attack started when a man drove his vehicle at speed, on the pavement, the length of westminster bridge, towards the houses of parliament, hitting many pedestrians in his path — two of them died several others suffered catastrophic

injuries. they included some police officers who'd been at an event nearby. our chief correspondent gavin hewitt reports in more detail on the attack on westminster bridge. early afternoon with the traffic flowing over westminster bridge. to the right, a grey hyundai starts crossing the bridge and then swerves onto the pavement. a woman jumps into the thames. others are knocked to the ground and under traffic as the vehicle races towards parliament square. left behind on the bridge, a group of horrified visitors. on the ground, dozens of injured people, some lying on the pavement, many bleeding, one trapped under a bus. some of the injuries were described as catastrophic. a big sort of crunch, sounded like a car crash, but almost that crunch of a wheel on a kerb. i saw the vehicle mount the kerb and it was coming out so quickly, and i saw some people being hit in front of me. ijumped to the left into the road.

i think one of the guys had been hit, but fortunately was kept past me. and then looked around me in shock because i could see bodies, and it was all, yeah, real shock. some people trying to escape the vehicle ended up in the road, cared for by bewildered passers—by. we heard what sounded like metal on metal, and we assumed it was a collision. but then we looked outside and i saw one person down, then another, and i saw five people in all down on the tarmac and on the pavement and then i understood that it must have been deliberate. there were moments when the injured were comforted by others who had been on the bridge. shortly after, paramedics from nearby st thomas‘ hospital arrived. the woman who jumped into the thames was rescued but is in a critical condition. many on the bridge had severe injuries. the police believe there was only one attacker involved here, but their task over the next 2a or 36 hours will be to trace every link to that individual

and to satisfy themselves there was no wider plot here. gavin hewitt, bbc news, westminster. politicians, journalists, tourists and members of the public became witnesses to the attack, which left five people dead and at least a0 injured. people described what they saw as events unfolded. british prime minister theresa may was in parliament when the attack happened and was immediately ta ken to safety by her police protection team. mrs may has since chaired a meeting of cobra — the cabinet committee that deals with emergencies — as the attacker‘s identity was being examined and questions were asked about how someone managed to penetrate pa rliament‘s enhanced security system, carrying a weapon. 0ur security correspondent gordon corera has this assessment of the attacker and the investigation. the attacker shot by police lies on a stretcher, then still alive. his weapon, a large knife, apparently lies on the pavement next to him. now the hunt is on to identify

the man and understand what lay behind this attack. who was he and how did he get so close? 0ther clues for investigators will include the car that was used so brutally as a weapon. was it his or a hire car? armed police have regularly carried out exercises like this one to secure parliament and the area around it. but today the response was for real. the met responded in line with our plans for a marauding terrorist attack. that response included uniformed and specialist firearms officers. we now, of course, have an ongoing operation and while we currently believe there was only one attacker i'm sure people will understand we are taking every precaution in locking down and searching the area as thoroughly and exhaustively as possible. in recent years security in parliament has been tightened after intruders managed to get inside. cameras, bollards, armed guards and x—ray scanners are all in place.

today an attacker did breach the initial perimeter but police dealt with him quickly. the security services say that 13 attacks have been stopped since 2013. mi5 and the police have certainly improved their ability to detect those behind the plots. but, we've also seen those planning attacks switch to less sophisticated techniques which can be harder for the intelligence agencies to spot. a year ago exactly saw an attack on brussels airport and the metro. that was more sophisticated than what we saw in westminster today, including the use of explosives. last weekend paris's 0rly airport showed how sometimes lone individuals are now moving towards more low—tech means. a man grabbed a gun from a soldier but was shot. recent attacks in berlin and nice showed the carnage a vehicle could inflict on innocent

people, as happened today on westminster bridge. in many recent cases attackers have been inspired by so—called islamic state, although not necessarily in direct contact with the group. well, it's very hard to prevent an attack, if you like, a low—tech attack like this from happening once an individual is inspired to carry one out. if you haven't got the intelligence to know it is happening it's very, very hard to prevent lives from being lost once the attack actually takes place. a wide reaching and urgent investigation into this incident is now under way. the attacker may be dead but the priority will be finding out if he worked alone and if this threat has really passed. gordon corera, bbc news. for the latest, let's cross live to our news reporter greg dawson at metropolitan police headquarters, new scotland yard. as gordon was saying, if the threat

level is kept the same, at severe, there is the suggestion authorities don't think there are more specific attack is out there, so what are the police saying about which areas might remain closed and which cordons might be lifted? we know that a few cordons around this westminster area have been eased over the past couple of hours. just behind me as the bridge where it started. when we first arrived here, it was stacked with the london buses which didn't finish their journey after the chat —— the attack. it was after the chat —— the attack. it was a crime scene. just over one hour ago, some of those buses have been moved off the bridge. it remains closed. an indication that some of those cordons are going to be eased. just a few hours away from rush—hour in central london. the police will do all they can to make it

manageable for commuters. a lot of questions being asked about how alone will attacker got so close to parliament with two large knives. it seems that parliament is proceeding on thursday morning. the words of the prime minister, theresa may, was any attempt to disrupt the daily life of britain would be doomed to failure and there was a demonstration of that, the will of parliament to carry on as normal. both houses, the house of commons of the house of lords, was it as they ordinarily do. they will conduct daily business. the show of defiance. the investigation is still ongoing. some parts of westminster still remain closed and are expected to remain closed on this behind me is the new headquarters for the london metropolitan police. the

building was due to be officially opened on thursday but in light of wednesday's events, that will be postponed. police say they know who this attacker was that they will be looking at the trail he left, where he went, who he was in contact with. are they likely to be, then presumably will be, calls for many more armed officers. absolutely. already in many parts of central london train stations were attended with armed and unarmed officers. they are reassuring signs the members of the public. when those train stations reopened again, that will be the case once more. greg, thanks very much. france has also offered its support. it's emerged that three french school children, who were on an educational trip to london, were among those injured on westminster bridge. the french foreign minister,

jean—marc ayrault, who's in washington for talks on how to combat the so—called islamic state, said his country felt solidarity in the face of terrorist attacks. and he condemned what he said was a symbolic attack of incredible violence. the french president expressed support on behalf of his country. at the same time, we must put in place every possible measure to respond to these attacks. that is what we have done for a number of months in france and i have called for at the european level. it is at the european level, even beyond, that we need to get organised and measures have been taken, though they don't seem to stop every attack from taking place. in israel, the city hall in tel aviv was lit up with changing images of the israeli flag and the uk flag.

local residents said they were proud of the display and were sympathetic to what britain was suffering through as a country that has had its fair share of terror attacks. iam very i am very proud that we put here on oui’ i am very proud that we put here on our building in tel aviv, the english flag. i am absolutely emotional about it and i feel very strongly for the british people, we are with them. venezuelan president nicolas maduro made this impassioned plea about the attack at a public event. translation: all our solidarity is with the people of london, the people of the united kingdom and all manifestations of terrorism, criminal violence, wherever it comes from. the metropolitan police say there are extra officers — both armed and unarmed — on the streets of london following the attack. this kind of atrocity has been long feared —— and despite the success

of the security services in foiling a series of plots, there have also been warnings of the likelihood of an attack. so how have people here reacted? our home editor mark easton reports on london's response to the westminster terror attacks. sirens and prayers mixed with the bells of saint church church of saint martins in the field. police just being there to make people say. and that is how people felt. buskers set up at his spot in trafalgar square. a busker set up at his spot in trafalgar square as theatreland took to the stage this evening. chinatown thronged with people. if london was in shock, the crowds of locals and tourists suggested they were determined to ignore any anxieties.

we had just arrived in london as it was all happening, so it was a bit worrying but it hasn't stopped us. i have faith that we're going to be ok. because i'm coming from turkey, actually, i'm used to these attacks in my country. once we let our families know we are all right... 0n holiday, so... for years, londoners have been warned the question was not if another attack would come but when. they'd read the signs and heard the advice about suspicious activity and unattended packages, the possibility of being caught up in random violence crosses people's minds regularly. it's part of living in a big city. it's been expected for quite a long time, it's amazing that there haven't been more attacks in london. it shows that the services must be doing a good job. well, i've been quite shaky because we're quite close, just over the river there, but it was bound to happen at some stage, i feel. fluorescent flashers and wailing sirens remind those who were in london in 2005 of the aftermath of 7/7. extra police patrols, some with guns. but even they have become

a relatively familiar sight in the capital. london was prepared for this. inside the cordon, a vast crime scene. london sw1 is under forensic control. but outside the city carries on its business. for londoners, today has been disturbing and desperately sad. but the city remains calm and carries on. mark easton, bbc news, central london. just briefly in case you have joined us, that main story again. police in london say the attacks in westminster bridge and outside parliament looked to have been islamist terror related. the country's most senior terrorist officers say they know the identity officers say they know the identity of the attacker. four people were killed, more than a0 injured by a man who drove a car into pedestrians. he killed a policeman

before he was shot dead. much more on all the international news any time on the bbc website. thank you for watching. good morning. we have an area of rain across the central and southern parts of england drifting its way further west through this morning and here we have temperatures up to six degrees. rain in southern scotland, wet and windy here in the north of scotland, the north—west in particular has light winds and clear skies and lower temperatures, reaching maybe —8 for some. the wet weather moves into the bulk of wales before eight o'clock in the morning and into parts of the south—west as well. the rain becomes light and patchy towards the south—east, something brighter behind. northern england is dry with a shower or two over high ground and fair bit of cloud in scotland and ireland. a little rain to go with that. northern scotland after a cold start stays chilly through the middle part of the morning and we get regular sunshine as well. light wind as well.

a decent start to the day. it will be a decent day for many parts of the north and east of the uk as rain is confined to the south and south—west into the afternoon with a breeze and that will temper the temperatures a little bit. 12—13 for cardiff and london. eight or nine degrees in glasgow and newcastle. through the evening again along the south coast we have thick cloud and outbreaks of rain. rain towards the northern isles but in between fine and dry with clear skies and light winds. that means it will be a chilly start once again on friday. decent rain to be had on friday with the weather front drifting away towards the south. high pressure is firmly in charge all the way to the end of the week and into the weekend. friday again a cold start for some particular southern scotland and northern england we have light winds but here will be a lovely day with plenty of sunshine in light wind. breeze top and tail of the country, a little bit of rain in the south—west and maybe a little bit of rain towards the northern isles.

decent day temperature wise for many. a little bit higher, ten or ii degrees for glasgow and belfast. 13 again for cardiff and london. high pressure remains in charge of our weather through this weekend. that will bring a lot of fine and dry weather, more on the way of cloud developing as we reach sunday. saturday looks a decent day across large parts of the uk, chilly start but regular sunshine through the day and it should reach ia or 15 degrees in the south—east and 13 degrees also for belfast and edinburgh. there is always a bit of a breeze blowing across the southern half of the uk through this weekend. a bit more cloud around on sunday but many places will be fine and dry and some spells of sunshine to be had. winds lighter the further north you are. dry through the weekend, if you get sunshine it will be warm but quite chilly by night. the latest headlines from bbc news. i'm mike embley. the british prime minister has condemned what she called a ‘sick and depraved terrorist attack‘ outside the houses of parliament in london.

three civilians and a police officer were killed by a lone attacker — who was then shot dead. the murdered police officer, who was unarmed and guarding the gates to parliament has been named as keith palmer. he was a8, a husband and a father. he had been in the force for 15 yea rs. he suffered multiple stab wounds. the other victims have not yet been named. police say they know the identity of the attacker, but have given no details. the country‘s top anti—terrorism officer told journalists the attack was probably motivated by islamic extremism but no group has admitted responsibiity. the injured victims included five people from south korea, two from romania and several french schoolchildren. the lights of the eiffel tower in paris were switched off at midnight on wednesday night as a mark of respect. five people are dead, including a police officer, following a terror attack near the houses of parliament in london. a single attacker armed with a knife

drove a car into pedestrians before fatally stabbing an unarmed police officer. police believe the attack was inspired by international terrorism. islamist extremism. john sweeney reports. westminster today, terror strikes by heart of london. gunfire. man shouting: run! go, go! go, move yourself, go! sirens. at around 2:a0 this afternoon a car drives onto westminster bridge, mounts the pavements and ploughs into people in its path. the vehicle crosses the bridge, passes big ben and then slams into the railings to the left. the attacker, armed with a knife, then runs around the corner and into the main gates of the palace of westminster. he stabs a police officer.

eyewitnesses say that, as he approached a second officer, clutching his knife, he was shot. the first people to be hit were standing on the south bank of the river by this kiosk. this danish teenager saw the horror. the south side? this side? yes, the south side. how many bodies did you see? four. ismail, a driver coming from the direction of waterloo

thought at first that the attacker had lost control of his vehicle. saw the car started speeding up. i don‘t know the reason, the only thing i thought was, personally, the light changed. so then after, as he speeded up, there is a small shop, a gift shop, then the first thing he has taken three victims at least. the nhe came to the middle and i was thinking, he lost balence or brake or something like that. then the second and the third one, then i stopped in the middle of the road to pointo the other cars and to stop them of the road to point to the other cars and to stop them because there are people lying in the middle of the road. people being hit? taken as if normal. then people flying like a football. i feel sorry for one of the gentlemen, i did not know what happened to him, but it is not something i would want to witness every day.

he was not conscious and just laying there, in the middle of the road. did you see a chance to see the gentlemen driving the car? no, because my attention was not on that. my attention was on what‘s happening exactly. suddenly i realized, after 30 seconds, i realised it was not a hit—and—run, because hit and run is only one person but taking a group of people and keep going back then that is a crime against humanity. our next eyewitness, radoslaw sikorski, former foreign polish foreign minister filmed this footage. we heard what sounded like metal on metal and we assumed it was a collision but then we looked outside and i saw one person down, then another. i reached for my telephone out of and old journalistic habit and i saw five people in all down on the tarmac and on the pavement and i understood it must have been deliberate. in the chaos, a woman was reported to have fallen into the thames — she was pulled out injured but alive. the attacker then crashed his car into the railings just beyond big ben. hitting it appears yet another innocent bystander.

my wife, friend and i came up from the westminster underground, and just as we came up, we looked across to parliament and there was a car crashed into the gate there. the police officers were running with machine—guns and there was a man down right next to the car so after it settled down in, i said, geez, i don‘t like what‘s going on. i took a wife and our friend and said let‘s get behind some concrete on th eparliamnt office building. concrete on the parliamnt office building. journalist quentin lett heard the car crash and ran to his office window overlooking parliament square. we saw a thick—set man in black clothes come through the gates, where people would normally drive cars, into new palace yard. new palace yard is just below big ben. this man had something in his hand. it looked like a stick of some sort. he was challenged by a couple of policemen in yellowjackets and one of the yellow—jacketed

policemen fell down and we could see the man in black moving his arm in a way that suggested he was either stabbing or striking the yellow—jacketed policeman, and one of the policemen then ran to get help, which was very, very quick to come. and then it is. gunfire. i would say 15 yards, perhaps, two plainclothed guys with guns shouted at him, uttered what sounded like a warning. he ignored it and they shot two or three times and he fell. foreign office minister tobias ellwood administered the kiss of life to the dying police officer. the thing london has been dreading has finally happened — a terror attack, and this one on the very heart of our democracy. inside the chamber, the deputy

speaker halted proceedings. i am now going to suspend the sitting of the house. this house is now suspended but please wait here. so these were the scenes in the mother of parliaments today. chaos within but murder without. john sweeney reporting there. the acting deputy commissioner for the met police, mark rowley is in charge of the investigation. he is the country‘s most senior anti— terror officer. today in westminster we saw tragic events unfold and our thoughts are with those who lost loved ones, those who are injured and all those effected by this attack. one of those who died today was a police officer, pc keith palmer, a member of our parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. keith, aged a8 had 15 years service, and was a husband and father. he was someone who left for work today expecting to return home

at the end of his shift and he had every right to expect that would happen. i can also now confirm that there are three members of the public who have lost their lives in the attack. specially trained family liaison officers have been deployed to support them. and as i confirmed earlier, the suspected attacker was shot dead by an armed officer. therefore now in total we have five people who died today. i will not comment on this stage as to the identity of the attacker but our working assumption is that he was inspired by international terrorism. i should also say at this stage, that we believe approximately a0 people have been injured, including several with serious injuries, including three police officers, two of whom are in a serious condition. our investigation continues and is moving at a fast pace this evening. we will be working throughout the night. we have hundreds of officers on this investigation and they are focusing on the suspect‘s motivation,

preparation and his associates. we are forensically examining a complicated crime scene that covers a wide area and, as with all investigations of this nature, it will take us some time to work through the painstaking work necessary to gather all the relavant evidence. only then will the full picture be known. officers are taking statements from the hundreds of people who were nearby, as today‘s attack unfolded and we are seizing and examining cctv. i can also report that the lockdown of parliament has concluded and we are working to reduce the evidence cordoned off. i would like to thank the public and parliamentarians for their patience and assistance as we carried out detailed examinations and work in that area. as the prime minister said earlier on, the uk threat level has been severe for some time and this level is not changing. but we have enhanced the scale of our policing operations

at present to protect communities across the country. as we continue to investigate today‘s horrific events we do want to reassure the public that police and partners will do everything possible to protect them. as a precautionary measure, over the next few days, we have increased the number of officers on duty, armed and unarmed, to provide a highly visible, reassuring presence. this will continue for as long as is necessary. terrorists have a clear aim, that is to create discord, distrust and to create fear. the police stand with all communities in the uk and will take action against anybody who seeks to undermine society, especially where their crimes are motivated by hate. we must recognise now that our muslim communities will feel anxious at this time, given the past behaviour of extreme right—wing groups, and we will continue to work with all community leaders in the coming days. it is essential for us to remain vigilant but also to work together —

police and communities — to unite against those who seek through violence and extermism to threaten, to intimidate and to cause fear. we ask the public to be alert and to report any suspicious activities to the police, calling our anti—terrorism hotline — 0800 789 321 - or dialing 999. today is an incredibly sad and sombre day, especially for the metropolitan police service and everyone who is affected. but it is only right that i finish by mentioning the pride i feel in the swift and brave response from our officers, especially from those who, without fear for their own safety, confronted the terrorist. the acting deputy commissioner most

senior anti— car at officer in the country. the london mayor sadiq khan said there would be additional police officers on the city streets to keep londoners and visitors safe. today, london suffered a horrific attack in the heart of westminster. my heart goes out to those who‘ve lost loved ones and those affected by today‘s attack. tragically, a metropolitan police officer who was doing his job to keep our streets safe lost his life. my thoughts are with his family and on behalf of londoners, i want to thank the police and the emergency services who were work incredibly hard in difficult circumstances to keep us safe. my message is to those who want to destroy our way of life is you won‘t succeed, you will not divide us, we will not be cowed by terrorists. well late on wednesday evening, the british prime minister chaired a meeting of cobra — the cabinet committee that deals with emergencies — as the attacker‘s identity was being examined. afterwards she made this statement outside number 10 downing street.

i have just chaired a meeting of the government‘s emergency committee, cobra, following the sick and depraved terrorist attack on the streets of our capital this afternoon. the full details of exactly what happened are still emerging. but, having been updated by police and security officials, i can confirm that this appalling incident began when a single attacker drove his vehicle into pedestrians walking across westminster bridge, killing two people and injuring many more, including three police officers. this attacker, who was armed with a knife, then ran towards parliament, where he was confronted by the police officers who keep us and our democratic institutions safe. tragically, one officer was killed. the terrorist was also shot dead. the united kingdom‘s threat level has been set at severe for some time and this will not change.

acting deputy commissioner rowley will give a further operational update later this evening. our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected — to the victims themselves and their family and friends who waved their loved ones off, but will not now be welcoming them home. for those of us who were in parliament at the time of this attack, these events provide a particular reminder of the exceptional bravery of our police and security services who risk their lives to keep us safe. once again today, these exceptional men and women ran towards the danger even as they encouraged others to move the other way. on behalf of the whole country, i want to pay tribute to them and to all our emergency services for the work they have been doing to reassure the public and bring

security back to the streets of our capital city. that they have lost one of their own in today‘s attack only makes their calmness and professionalism under pressure all the more remarkable. the location of this attack was no accident. the terrorists chose to strike at the heart of our capital city, where people of all nationalities, religions and cultures come together to celebrate the values of liberty, democracy and freedom of speech. these streets of westminster — home to the world‘s oldest parliament — are engrained with a spirit of freedom that echoes in some of the furthest corners of the globe. and the values our parliament represents — democracy, freedom, human rights,

the rule of law — command the admiration and respect of free people everywhere. that is why it is a target for those who reject those values. but let me make it clear today, as i have had cause to do before: any attempt to defeat those values through violence and terror is doomed to failure. tomorrow morning, parliament will meet as normal. we will come together as normal. and londoners and others from around the world who have come here to visit this great city will get up and go about their day as normal. they will board their trains, they will leave their hotels, they will walk these streets, they will live their lives. and we will all move forward together. never giving in to terror. and never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart. the terrorism threat level

in britain has been at severe for some time — authorities are not changing it, and that suggests they don‘t think more specific attacks are imminent. they say they‘ve stopped 13 major plots in the uk since 2013. but the barrister independently reviewing uk terror laws warned last month of indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilians by the so—called islamic state extremists, and the latest highlights just how complex a problem prevention is. mark urban reports. there had been so many rehearsals of scenarios like this in all sorts of environments. from the thames to the streets to the london underground, and underlying all the drills,

the conviction that whoever inspired today‘s attacker, the islamic state group, had promised to strike britain. i think it was only a matter of time before an attack like this happened because is had rallied its supporters around the world by saying, "attack wherever and whenever "you can," and what we saw today was a very low—cost attack. it was a vehicle attacking people on the street and this is not something that, no matter how many security measures a country can take, could have been fully prevented. after the nice attacks in which an assailant used a truck to mow people down, islamic state promised again to hit the british. in the past two years, counterterrorist chiefs say that 13 plots have been foiled in britain. today, though, the met‘s assistant commissioner for special operations had to count the cost of one that had got through. my thoughts are with all those who have been affected by today‘s attack and, as a service, we have lost

one of our own as he acted to protect the public and his colleagues. this is a day we planned for but we hoped would never happen. sadly, it‘s now a reality. we will continue to do all we can to protect the people of london. the metropolitan police have a tight grip on the illegal firearms market in london and that‘s given them a confidence they could prevent a type of mumbai or paris sort of attack with multiple gunmen on the streets but of course what they can‘t stop is an individual using a car and a kitchen knife. what many of these attacks do have in common, and this happened with the murder of lee rigby, is that the attackers are already well—known to security agencies. it isn‘t yet clear whether that was the case in london today but with hundreds involved in militant islam, the problem remains one of resources and calculated risks. the uk has one of the best

security services in europe, if not the world, and i know that the security services in the uk have foiled a number of plots that the public do not necessarily know about and as i said, the problem is, you can‘t fully immunise a country against someone driving a vehicle and attacking people that way, but the more complex plots, certainly the uk intelligence services and security services have done a very good job of protecting british citizens from those kind of incidents. there are a great many investigative avenues ahead for the police and m15 now, mapping the attacker‘s contacts, asking themselves about whether any warnings were missed that gave an indication that he had decided to mount the crimes we saw today.

mark urban there with that report. the westminster attack has brought back memories of london‘s last major terrorist incident. more than 50 people died in multiple suicide bomb attacks on the city‘s underground system in 2005. ken livingstone was mayor of london at the time and says there are stark differences between that incident and what has happened at westminster. we know this was going to happen. the difference is, back 12 years ago, and 52 londoners were killed, that was part of an international group who were linked up to international terrorist organisations. 0ur problem now is that most of the recent terrorist attacks in europe have been individual, angry young men going out with the gun or a knife or a lorry or a car and killing people. it's lorry or a car and killing people. it‘s much more difficult to get the data about them, to recognise who

they are and prepare for it. that is oui’ they are and prepare for it. that is our problem. the nature of terrorism in europe has changed. it‘s individuals rather than international organisations. the international papers: ‘london has not fallen‘ reads the headline of saudi newspaper the arab news. the paper says workers in the uk capital are defiant after the westminster terror attack. the front of singapore‘s straits times shows police officers suurounding the man believed to have carried out the attack. the gulf news shows conservative mp tobias ellwood helping emergency services attend to a police officer outside the palace of westminster after he was stabbed. the irish times also shows the terror suspect, this time receiving medical attention. the man was shot three times by police and was later pronounced dead in hospital. and finally, ‘terror strikes the heart of london‘ says france‘s le figaro.

the paper also reports there were three french students injured on westminster bridge during the attack. the police in london say wednesday‘s terrorist attacks are likely to have been islamist—related. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has said that defeating the so—called islamic state group is the united states‘ number one goal in the middle east. the nato secretary generaljens stoltenberg was asked for his reaction to the attack in london.. i strongly condemn the attacks in london and i express my condolences to all of those who have lost loved ones and also express my condolences to the british people. i met with borisjohnson earlier today, our allies stand together in the fight against terrorism and how to combat terrorism has been the main focus of our meeting here in washington today. you said that is the main focus of the meeting of the great big coalition gathered here. how can you stop these sort of lone wolf attacks from happening? we will always be vulnerable

for these kind of attacks. there is no way we can be 100% safe. but we can do many different things to reduce risks and to fight terrorist organisations like isil. that is what we are doing in new york and syria and the purpose of our presence in a country like afghanistan. this is also about police and intelligence and an ideological fight against those values which do not respect human life. australian prime minister malcolm turnbull has been among the world leaders offering their condolences and support to the uk following the attack. australia‘s heartfelt sympathy and resolute solidarity is with the

people of the united kingdom with whom we stand today as we always have in freedom‘s calls. staunch allies in the war against terrorism. the attack on the british parliament is an attack on parliament ‘s, freedom and democracy everywhere. australians should be reassured that oui’ australians should be reassured that our agencies australians should be reassured that oui’ agencies are australians should be reassured that our agencies are today, as every day, working relentlessly to give australians safe. we are very alert to the vulnerabilities of places of mass gathering and the risk of loan attackers like the perpetrator, the terrorist in london. the prime minister of new zealand, bill english, has also formally offered his support to the uk. we condemn strongly the terrorist attack in london. this morning, i have written to prime minister theresa may expecting —— expressing

oui’ theresa may expecting —— expressing our condemnation of the attack and oui’ our condemnation of the attack and our support for the uk government and the condolences for the families and the condolences for the families and wejust and the condolences for the families and we just want new zealanders who are in london, of whom there are many, to make sure they are safe. that‘s it for now. good morning. we have an area of rain across the central and southern parts of england drifting its way further west through this morning and here we have temperatures up to six degrees. rain in southern scotland, wet and windy here in the north of scotland, the north—west in particular has light winds and clear skies and lower temperatures, reaching maybe —8 for some. the wet weather moves into the bulk of wales before eight o‘clock in the morning and into parts of the south—west as well. northern england is dry with a shower or two over high ground and fair bit of cloud in scotland and ireland. a little rain to go with that. northern scotland after a cold start

stays chilly through the middle part of the morning and we get regular sunshine as well. light wind as well. a decent start to the day. it will be a decent day for many parts of the north and east of the uk as rain is confined to the south and south—west into the afternoon with a breeze and that will temper the temperatures a little bit. eight or nine degrees in glasgow and newcastle. through the evening again along the south coast we have thick cloud and outbreaks of rain. rain towards the northern isles but in between fine and dry with clear skies and light winds. decent rain to be had on friday with the weather front drifting away towards the south. high pressure is firmly in charge all the way to the end of the week and into the weekend. friday again a cold start for some particular southern scotland and northern england we have light winds but here will be a lovely day

with plenty of sunshine in light wind. breeze top and tail of the country, a little bit of rain in the south—west and maybe a little bit of rain towards the northern isles. a little bit higher, ten or 11 degrees for glasgow and belfast. 13 again for cardiff and london. high pressure remains in charge of our weather through this weekend. that will bring a lot of fine and dry weather, more on the way of cloud developing as we reach sunday. saturday looks a decent day across large parts of the uk, chilly start but regular sunshine through the day and it should reach 1a or 15 degrees in the south—east and 13 degrees also for belfast and edinburgh. there is always a bit of a breeze blowing across the southern half of the uk through this weekend. a bit more cloud around on sunday but many places will be fine and dry and some spells of sunshine to be had. winds lighter the further north you are. dry through the weekend, if you get sunshine it will be warm but quite chilly by night. welcome to a bbc news special. i‘m mike embley, in london, where a lone attacker has killed four people,

including a police officer, outside the houses of parliament. britain‘s prime minister has condemned what she called a "sick and depraved terrorist attack". the attacker drove into pedestrians on westminster bridge, causing catastrophic injuries. i saw the vehicle mount the kerb and it was coming out so quickly, and i saw some people being hit in front of me. on the other side of the road there was a body and when i looked further up, there was another body. and then, when i looked over the side of the bridge, there appeared to be a body in the water as well. police shot dead the attacker. they say they know his identity and believe he was motivated by islamic—extremism. the lights of the eiffel tower in paris were switched off as a mark of respect.