hello. you're watching bbc world news. i'm sally bundock. our top story this hour. investigations continue and several people remain severely ill in hospital after wednesday's attack outside the houses of parliament in london. britain's prime minister has condemned what she called a "sick and depraved terrorist attack" that killed an unarmed policeman and three civilians. welcome to a special news programme. police shot dead the attacker. they say they know his identity and believe he was motivated by islamic extremism. several of the injured victims were french schoolchildren, two were romanian and five came from south korea. it was, in the words of the british prime minister,

"a sick and depraved terrorist attack." but theresa may has insisted that london will come together and go about their business as normal following the events around parliament on wednesday. so far, five people have died, including the alleged attacker, and around a0 others have been injured, some seriously. last night, police confirmed the name of the dead officer as pc keith palmer. he was 48 and had served the police for 15 years. 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. 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 5 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. an attack that in theory many expected but the truth of an event like this in practice is a shock in our parliament, a shock in our country. whatever the motive,

an effort to stop our democracy in its track, a new awful page of history in a place where every corner tells of our shared past. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. 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. for the latest, let's cross live

to our news reporter, greg dawson, at metropolitan police headquarters, new scotland yard. this is a live shot, there's big ben. let's speak to greg. tell us what you're being told there now. a new day dawning in london. people will come to the city to go to work etc. what is the situation? that is right. we are an hour away from when the train stations surrounding

westminster open up. the tube will open soon. police are trying to provide a visible and reassuring presence. there will be armed and unarmed police officers in those stations. what i have learned is they have eased the cordons somewhat and some parts of westminster have reopened. for around 12 hours, some of the buses remained on the bridge. it was sealed off. effectively a crime seems to be in the last few hours, those buses were driven away and some to trucks took them away and some to trucks took them away and winched up the remaining cars. while you are talking, we are looking at the scene on westminster bridge. i know that overnight you have been at new scotland yard as well. what do we know more about the

attacker? scotland yard have not been seen too much since the last statement they put out last night. —— saying. they say they know who he was but they do not want to release his name yet. for them, this investigation has been going on throughout the night. they know where this journey ended. the key is knowing where it began. did this man have any known associates, was there a network? that investigation will continue. you expected to go on today. behind me is the houses of parliament. theresa may said last night any attempt to disrupt british life is, in her words, destined to fail. parliament will be open and it will resume its daily business. we are expecting a statement from the prime minister on what happened yesterday. but they are determined

to show that life carries on as normal despite this attack. that is certainly the case with londoners on social media saying "we are not afraid." they definitely want to get that message out there. but we definitely have to be more vigilant after yesterday. there will be the message is being stressed will be to keep calm and go about your business but be vigilant and be aware of what has happened. this is the first attack in london with multiple deaths since 2005 and while there will be a determination to try and carry on as normal, several parts of the city remain closed and you will be seeing the visible presence of armed police officers on the street. in terms of the practical side, i understand that westminster tube station will be

closed today? many roads are still closed? what will people experience as they try to reach london this morning? much of the westminster area remains sealed off. you may see why it all behind me, that is closed to all traffic and pedestrians. as far as the tube, much of the network is open. westminster tube remains closed for now. whether they will open as we get into rush—hour, remains to be seen. thank you very much, greg for keeping us up—to—date with what is going on at the moment in london. now while police believe the attacker was shot and killed a now trying to ascertain whether or not he had links to terrorist organisations and whether he was working alone. they say he appears to be inspired by international terrorism. our security correspondent has this assessment of the attacker. the attacker shot by police lies on a stretcher, 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? other 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. the attacker did breach the initial perimeter but police dealt with him quickly. the security services say that 13 attacks have been stopped since 2013. m15 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 orly 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. joining us to look at the implications for security following on from the westminster terror attack isjonathan wood from control risks where

he leads company analysis of transnational terrorism. jonathan was also in brussels last year on the day of the attacks there. welcome to the programme and thank you forjoining us. could you give us you forjoining us. could you give usa you forjoining us. could you give us a sense you forjoining us. could you give us a sense of what you in your company advised, the day after this kind of scenario, what do you tell your clients? what we look at as a terrorism threat environment in western europe and globally which is more diverse and complicated than anything we have seen in the last five or ten years. what companies are doing now is grappling with this reality of less sophisticated less radical terrorist events in public spaces. what companies will be doing for the last year in western europe is looking at the guidance advice and medication that they can put

around their employees, people deployed to western european cities on business, for leisure, for tourism, to reassure them about the nature of this thread and to ensure them that if there is an incident that they can account for both individuals and provide support that needs to happen. while we talk, let's look at live pictures of westminster bridge. we hearfrom our reporter, as london prepares to the next day following events yesterday. this is the issue, isn't it? from the point of view of your analysis that the nature of the threat has changed, hasn't it? years ago it was about the possibility of a bomb or something of that nature which takes a lot of co—ordination and communication between many individuals and therefore those kind of plots can be foiled in advance. now at lone individuals who are just climbing intoa

now at lone individuals who are just climbing into a car on a mission to plough people down and perhaps harm people with a knife, as happened yesterday. that situation is very difficult to foil prior to it happening, isn't it, in terms of emergency services and security services. that is exactly correct. the attacks in brussels one year ago, the attack here in london's bracket that is environment. the risk is still remains but the threat has shifted much more towards lone wolf type incidents against soft targets or public spaces which are much more difficult to defend. they are much less predictable so they are much less predictable so they are difficult to detect in advance as well. do you find that people who seek your advice, it but that demand has increased given the events that have happened over the last two or three years in brussels, in paris, in london. the companies that we

work within the organisations, including the bbc, were globally in many differentjurisdictions. but what we have seen since the paris attacks is some change in the posture towards previously benign places including western europe. london has always been a terrorism target that the threat of the last couple of years has increased. thank you very much indeed for sharing your analysis. this has been one of the worst terror incidents in london sincejuly seven the worst terror incidents in london since july seven 2005. the worst terror incidents in london sincejuly seven 2005. four the worst terror incidents in london since july seven 2005. four victims are dead including a police officer named as pc keith palmer. over a0 people have been injured. the man who carried out the attack was shot dead by police at the scene. let's leave you now with some of the images of the day in westminster when it came under attack on wednesday afternoon.

glow! move yourself! order! iam now order! i am now going to suspend the sitting of the house. we will all move forward together.

never giving in to terror. 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. the up to six degrees. north of scotland has much clearer the north of scotland has much clearer skies. it is quite wet this morning across much of wales. wintry weather over the hills and some rain getting down to the south—west of england as well. rain clears from london an improving all the while here. variable cloud and sunshine in north england through the morning. still a little bit of rain through here. the cold but bright start in

north scotland and towards the northern isles may see some thick cloud. all in all it seems like a decent day for large parts of the uk. in many areas it will be dry, bright and breezy with sunshine. more on the way of cloud towards the south and south—west. the top temperature is around 12 or 13 degrees the cardiff and london. at 9a glasgow. into the evening, along the south coast will be quite breezy breezy and cloudy with outbreaks of rain. to the north, rain and later winds. a touch of frost in some places. into the weekend high pressure is firming up. it could be a decent day for large parts of the uk once again. it may begin with a little patchy rain in the south and south—west and it tends to clear away. and in many places will be dry and bright with variable cloud with the best sunshine southern scotland and northern england into northern ireland. all in all a pleasant day

here. into double figures, ten or 11 degrees here, 12 or 13 once again further south towards cardiff and london. through the weekend high pressure remains in charge of our weather and that will bring a lot of fine and dry weather. cloud developing by sunday. saturday looks like a decent day across the board. it may well be a chilly start but i think we will see reasonable temperatures. 13 in cardiff in belfast, 15 degrees in london it a lwa ys belfast, 15 degrees in london it always a breeze across the southern half of the uk through saturday and sunday that will temper the temperatures. look out on sunday but still smells of sunshine to be had. it seems a good weekend. dry everywhere. he gets and sunshine will be warm but still quite chilly by night—time. this is bbc world news. the headlines: 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 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.