this is a day we'd planned for, but hoped would never happen. sadly, it's now a reality. we will continue to do all we can to protect the people of london. tonight, the police investigation continues as the prime minister has been chairing a meeting of the cabinets emergency committee. we will all move forward together, never giving in to terror and never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart. we'll have the latest on the people injured in today's attack, and we'll have the latest on the police investigation into what happened. and we will have the latest analysis on the news channel, including how tomorrow's papers are reporting the attack. good evening from westminster, where a state of emergency was imposed this afternoon following a terror incident which led to at least four deaths and more than 20 people injured. those killed include a police officer and the man who carried out the attack. it's the worst attack in london since thejuly 7th bombings of 2005. this was the sequence of events which started unfolding at 2.40 today. the man drove a car across westminster bridge, mounting the pavement, hitting many pedestrians, killing two people and causing some very serious injuries before crashing into railings at 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 wasn't armed and later died despite the efforts of a team of emergency workers and an mp who came to help. the attacker was shot dead by police who rushed to the scene in the shadow of big ben. the houses of parliament and the surrounding area were placed into immediate lockdown as police conducted a thorough search. among those held inside for several hours was our political editor laura kuenssberg, and we start tonight with her account of what happened. run. go. move. the sound of gunfire replacing the bells of big ben. 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 tea m 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 when i looked over the side of the bridge, there appeared to be a body in the water as well. sick. it is sick to witness these things. 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 car, only a couple of hundred yards away, ca reered around car, only a couple of hundred yards away, careered around to smash into parliament's gates. away, careered around to smash into pa rliament‘s gates. a away, careered around to smash into parliament's gates. a policeman gave his life to stop the attacker nothing 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 oi’ just yards outside. we heard three orfour just yards outside. we heard three or four shots just yards outside. we heard three orfour shots which just yards outside. we heard three or four shots 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 generally, a lot of people were walking through that area and most people heard three or four shots. did you hear anything? all this noise at the front of portcullis house ten minutes ago. lots of police and security guards shouting, people running past the building my general sense of panic. everyone was ordered to the back of the building until it was safe to do otherwise. there are at least a couple of hundred people here inside portcullis house. this is the heart of where westminster does its business and we are all part of a lockdown after what has happened outside. police officers told me one man was shot at the front. a few mps have told me they have heard three oi’ have told me they have heard three orfour gunshots as 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 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, which interrupted. order! i am now going to suspend the sitting of the house. this house is now suspended, but please wait here. because of 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 is just after five o'clock. we still don't really know what is going on. this group of students was brought herejust 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. frankly, it's still very ha rd to would unfold. frankly, it's still very hard to believe it has 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 oui’ 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 to day, 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 doomed to failure. the human cost is onlyjust becoming clear. we have declared this as a terrorist incident and the counterterrorism command are carrying out an investigation into the events today. the attack started when a car was driven over westminster bridge, hitting and injuring a number of members of the public, also including three police officers on their way back from a commendation ceremony. the car crashed into the front of parliament and at least one man armed with a knife continued the attack and tried to enter parliament. sadly, i can confirm that four people have now died. that includes the police officer who was protecting parliament, and one man we believe to be the attacker, who was shot by a police firearms officers. the officer's family have been made aware. at least 20 people have been injured. my thoughts are with all those who have been affected by today's attack and is a service, we have lost one of our own as he acted to protect the public and his colleagues. this is a day we had 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. an attack that in theory, many expected. but the truth of an event like this in practice is a shockin event like this in practice is a shock in our parliament, a shock in oui’ shock in our parliament, a shock in our country. whatever the motive, an effort to stop our democracy in its tracks, a new, orfour page of history in a place where every corner tells of our shared past. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. as laura explained, the attack started when a man drove his vehicle at speed across westminster bridge towards the houses of parliament, hitting many pedestrians in his path, two of whom died, and several others suffered catastrophic injuries. they included some police officers who'd been attending an event nearby. 0ur 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. 0n the ground, about 20 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 like the 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, 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'd 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, and two of them later died. 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. mps, peers and parliamentary staff have been unanimous in their praise of the police and emergency services for their swift response to the events as they unfolded this afternoon. dozens of mps were held in the house of commons for more than two hours as police checked the building. 0ur deputy political editor john pienaar reports as parliament came under attack. a brutal attack aimed at the heart of britain's national life, on a peaceful spring afternoon in the capital, a potential danger so often discussed here at westminster became suddenly horribly real. time for a statement to mps unlike any they had heard before. it seems that a police officer has been stabbed, that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police. an air ambulance is currently attending the scene. at a time like this, although there has been no time quite like this, an attempt to spread fear and wreck notions of normality drew a familiar response, only now the defensive dish values were delivered with studied calm to an audience absorbing something shocking. the british people will be united in working together to defeat those who would harm our shared values, values of democracy, tolerance and the rule of democracy, tolerance and the rule of law. values symbolised by the houses of parliament, values that will never be destroyed. the lockdown ended. those who had been pennedin lockdown ended. those who had been penned in streamed away, and there we re penned in streamed away, and there were forceful appeals for people to resist the temptation to give in to hate, to unite, not split apart. my message to those who want to harm us and destroy our way of life is, you won't succeed. you would divide us. we will not be cut by terrorists. parliament will sit tomorrow. the country will go about its business tomorrow. terrorists tried to strike fear in people's hearts. they tried to divide communities. tonight, the labour leader emphasised the scale of the security challenge. it is everybody that must be kept safe, everybody, whether they are in parliament or outside parliament. this was an attack on people going about their normal day—to—day business. and for even hardened politicians, and emotionally tiring day. just so awful for the people who died and theirfamilies day. just so awful for the people who died and their families and friends. it is so sick. so finally, here at the heart of government, first hand experience of a lethal danger that will not be easily disarmed, not by policing, not by any peace initiative. for politicians and people, it's a test of nerve and resolve, a test that will be long—lasting and far from easy to pass. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. scotland yard gave details of its early investigation this evening. in a moment, we'll speak to our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford, at new scotland yard, for the latest. we expect a new police statement in the next few minutes but we will wait to see if that happens. but first, at least 20 people were injured in today's attack. the london ambulance service reported some "catastrophic injuries". 0ur correspondent sophie hutchinson is there. she is at saint thomases hospital just across the river from parliament. can you tell us what the authorities are saying about the condition of some of the people brought in today? this hospital has been right at the centre of things today, as you were saying, it is right opposite the houses of parliament, it is linked to it by westminster bridge were some of those terrible injuries, some of those terrible injuries, some of those catastrophic injuries took place today and staff rushed out of this hospital today to try to help those who were injured on the bridge. two people remain in a sta ble bridge. two people remain in a stable condition at saint thomases hospital and another eight were taken to kings hospital in south—east london. it's a major trauma centre used to dealing with major injuries from, for example, cars, road traffic incidents and that kind of thing. we know of those eight people six are in a stable condition but two people remained critically ill tonight. sophie, thank you very much for now. if there is any more development there we will come back to you straightaway. let's joined daniel sa ndford straightaway. let's joined daniel sandford at new scotland yard where we expect a new statement in the next few minutes. bring us up—to—date on what we know so far. tonight, as you know, all of westminster is cordoned off by the police, whitehall is shut, westminster square is closed. westminster square is closed. westminster bridge, which isjust 100 metres from the new police headquarters over there is a crime scene, as is the interior of the palace of westminster. the traffic on westminster bridge is frozen in time. itjust hasn't moved since the moment that the carnage began and police officers are poring over the bridge looking for evidence, as they are inside the palace of westminster it's self. the key thing is that evidence needs to be gathered, even though police still believe the attacker acted alone. they need to know what happened, they need to know what happened, they need to know what happened, they need to know what he did, because from their on they can work out if he was acting alone, notjust alone in the vehicle, but actually acting alone. we are expecting an updated very soon from mark rowley, the acting deputy commissioner here at new scotla nd deputy commissioner here at new scotland yard, the national coordinator for anti—terrorism, and he will say the focus of the inquiry is international terrorism, i understand, and that is of course islamist inspired, violetjihadist inspired —— violent. islamist inspired, violetjihadist inspired -- violent. we talk a little bit about the shape of this inquiry in the early stages and the effo rts inquiry in the early stages and the efforts being made to identify who was responsible and whether there was responsible and whether there was any wider network, as you say. that is the absolute key for them. 0bviously that is the absolute key for them. obviously it's bad enough that a man has driven right through the heart of westminster, killed one of scotla nd of westminster, killed one of scotland yard's of westminster, killed one of scotland ya rd's on of westminster, killed one of scotland yard's on officers and had to be shot dead in the palace of westminster. that is a serious matter for scotland yard. but they need to know whether this was a man who was inspired, as they believe, by thisjihadist who was inspired, as they believe, by this jihadist ideology, who was inspired, as they believe, by thisjihadist ideology, or whether he is part of a network. he needs to have bought a car, he needs to have had some kind of support network working with him and that is going to be the focus of the investigation. at this stage there is not expected to be a trial. he is believed to be the only suspect but that doesn't mean a wider investigation won't throw up other suspects, and that will be the absolute focus of this investigation. i can't emphasise how important this is for new scotland yard. 0ver important this is for new scotland yard. over the death toll is tha nkfully lower yard. over the death toll is thankfully lower than it has been in previous attacks on london, the key thing is for them to try and work out who might have been involved behind—the—scenes in this attack on the palace of westminster. daniel, thanks for now and thank you to sophie. either way, daniel, thanks for now and thank you to sophie. eitherway, daniel, if there major developments from the police at new scotland yard tonight we will come back to you right away. in the meantime. the prime minister was in parliament when the attack happened, and was immediately taken to safety by her police protection team. earlier this evening, theresa may did chair a meeting of cobra, the cabinet committee that deals with emergencies, as the attacker‘s identity was being examined, as daniel was telling us, 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 whilst 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 and 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 harderfor 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 off 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. as we heard earlier laura kuenssberg, our political editor, was held in one of the parliamentary buildings for several hours. laura joins us now to reflect on a truly shocking day at westminster, despite the fact that the security levels have been very high for some time. they have and it is notable the security levels have not been raised by the government tonight. just eight hours ago this felt like a normal westminster wednesday. there had been a rowdy prime minister's questions session and all of a sudden a commotion across the road, shouting, the sound of gunshots, the sound of sirens, helicopters overhead, and then the realisation that something extremely serious and potentially with fatal consequences for members of the public or politicians was taking place. i can't emphasise enough how much security is part of this place. on a normal working day you might walk past armed police may be on a dozen occasions, perhaps more. so the sense of shock that finally something like this has taken place, here of all places, is profound. and you know the attacker got as far as a few yards really from where the prime minister's convoy goes in and out, a part of westminster behind the security cordon where senior politicians, staff, of course, and members of the public who are allowed to go in for a visit our wandering around freely. i think the target could hardly therefore been more audacious and more shocking and i think we could see from the prime minister's face how angry and how sad and she was but also determined that what is today a place of danger what, will tomorrow be the home of democracy, with mps and the house of lords coming to work as normal. we will talk later. we will go to new scotla nd will talk later. we will go to new scotland yard where the assistant deputy commissioner mark rowley is talking. today in westminster we saw tragic events unfold and our thoughts are with those who lost loved ones, those who were injured and one of those affected by this attack. 0ne and one of those affected by this attack. one of those who died today was a police officer, pc keith palmer, a member of our parliamentary of 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 confirmed 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 unarmed officer. now in total we have five people who died today. i will not comment at this stage on the identity of the attacker but are working assumption is he was inspired by international terrorism. i should also state at this stage we believe a0 people have been injured, including several with serious injuries, including three police officers, two of whom are in a serious condition. 0ur officers, two of whom are in a serious condition. our investigation continues and is moving at a very fast—paced this evening and 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 his associates. we are fore nsically preparation 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 of the releva nt work necessary to gather all of the relevant evidence. 0nly work necessary to gather all of the relevant evidence. only then will the full picture be known. 0fficers 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 areas 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 at severe for some time and this level is not changing. but we have enhanced the scale of our policing operations and presence to cope dummett protect communities across the country. as we continue to investigate today's horrific events we 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 over the coming days. it is essential for us to remain vigilant but also to work together policing communities, to unite against those who seek through violence and extremism to threaten, to intimidate, and to cause fear. we ask the public to be alert and to report any suspicious activity to the police, calling our anti—terrorism hotline on zero 807 89321, or dialling 999. today is an incredibly sad and sombre day, especially for the metropolitan police service. and everyone who is affected. 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. thank you. i will take some questions. you will not give away the identity on air but do you think you know who the man is who carried out the attack? we think we know who the attacker is and we're working at looking at associates. there are proactive investigative journalists out there and i would ask for restraint to allow the investigation to move forward without being troubled by unnecessary reporting.