There is a great deal that we do not precisely know about what appears to be the latest low-level terror attack at Westminster. However, like many you may have a terrible sinking feeling that, first, it could have been much worse and, second, it might not be unrelated to the heightened political tensions of the moment – across parties, across religious and political beliefs – across the country, in fact. The “debate” about antisemitism, about the burqa and niqab, the hateful tone of so much that goes on in social media, the talk of traitors and treason, enemies of the people. If you want to see what racial or religious hatred looks like, you need not infiltrate some terror cell; just take a look at the comments left below the line on popular news websites, or surf around Twitter. Sooner or later there was going to be a reckoning, a tangible act in response to the goading and climate of fear we seem to have generated in our peaceful land. ✕ Parliament crash: Footage shows moment man is taken away by police The truth is that this is the kind of low-level terror that is disturbingly easy to perpetrate. We would have to institute a police state in order to eliminate it, and even then you could not be certain of doing so. As we witnessed in the more deadly Westminster Bridge attack last year, in Borough Market, with the murder of Lee Rigby, you need only a car or van and some knives to inflict huge harm on innocent people. The same goes of the lorry attacks in Nice and Berlin. At the Manchester Arena and in the murder of Jo Cox, and in the Paris massacres, there were more sophisticated techniques deployed, which required sourcing materials and some expertise, but not that much when so much can be gleaned from the internet. Car bombings have been attempted in mainland Britain, but, as in so many benighted areas of the world, we can see how relatively simple they are to construct, and the huge impact that they have. Only days ago we commemorated the dead in the Omagh bombing three decades ago, in which Irish Republican terrorists murdered 29 people and injured 220 others. It was a reminder that car bombings were once not unusual on the streets of the UK, and not so long ago. The IRA’s mainland Britain bombing campaign, of assassinations, letter bombs and explosions in crowded pubs, also remind us that the UK has been subject to domestic terror campaigns before. Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Show all 30 1 /30 Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Forensic officers by the car that crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police arrest the man Sky News Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Forensic officers work at the scene EPA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Damaged bikes near the crash site Getty Images Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police arrest the man who crashed a car into the barriers ITV Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Getty Images Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Getty Images Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police activity outside the Houses of Parliament after a car crashed into security barriers BBC/PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Bicycles lie on the ground at the scene REUTERS Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament A forensics investigator arrives at the scene REUTERS Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police and emergency response teams work outside the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Images Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament The area is cleared near to the incident PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament A forensics investigator works at the scene REUTERS Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Armed police on Victoria Embankment PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament A forensic officer attends the scene near the Houses of Parliament PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police officers and a search team secure the roads around the Houses of Parliament as forensic teams continue their work around a vehicle Getty Images Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police forensics officers outside the Houses of Parliament AFP/Getty Images Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament The car crashed into parliament barriers Vincent McAviney/NBC News/Euronews/Twitter/PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Fire fighters attend the scene Reuters Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament A police dog team works behind the cordon REUTERS Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament olice and emergency services respond EPA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police on Westminster Bridge PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Reuters Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police respond EPA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament EPA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Armed police stand in the street after the incident Reuters Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police officers stand at a cordon Reuters Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Police activity on Millbank PA Westminster incident: car crashes into barriers outside parliament Reuters We could, for the sake of those who live, work, visit and travel there, cordon off Parliament Square and make it a pedestrian-only zone. We could do the same with other high-profile potential targets in the capital. Yet we know that all that would do would be to relocate the acts of terror, not stop them. Do we have get used to what they used to call in Northern Ireland during the Troubles an “acceptable level of violence”? We may not have much choice in these increasingly over-heated times, where political doubt turns to anxiety turns to fear turns to violence and revenge.<doc-sep>C ounter-terror police are investigating after a car ploughed into cyclists and pedestrians and crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament today. Three people were injured before the driver of the silver Ford Fiesta then accelerated into barriers protecting Parliament shortly before 7.40am. Two people were taken to hospital and one was treated at the scene. A man was discharged from St Thomas’ before midday, and a woman was still receiving treatment for serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Horrifying video footage shows the moment the car swerved hitting the group of cyclists at up to 50mph before ploughing into barriers outside Parliament. Pictures on social media showed a man in a black puffer jacket being pulled out of the car at gunpoint and led away in handcuffs. Police said a man in his late twenties had been arrested on suspicion of terror offences. No weapons were found in the vehicle, they added. Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said the suspect was refusing to co-operate and is not thought to have given officers his name. Police do not believe he was known to either MI5 or counter-terror officers, Mr Basu disclosed. After footage emerged appearing to show police vehicles behind the Fiesta, Mr Basu said: “There was not a police car in pursuit of the vehicle.” He added that no other suspects had been identified and there was “no intelligence at this time of further danger” to Londoners. An injured man lies on the ground after a car ploughed into cyclists outside Parliament / BBC News Witnesses said the car was travelling at up to 50mph and appeared to intentionally swerve towards Parliament and smash into a security checkpoint barrier near the St Stephen’s entrance, used by visitors. A builder who saw the crash told the Evening Standard: “There were 10 to 15 cyclists in their lane and he went through them. He kept driving on and smashed into the gates. There were about three or four cyclists left on the floor. There were people chasing after him and shouting for him to stop. “It all happened so quick. The police were there so quickly with their guns running up the road.” Barry Williams, who works for the BBC in Millbank, said two police officers dived out of the way as the car raced into the barriers. Within minutes of the incident, police threw a “terror cordon” around Westminster, closing the Underground station and roads around Parliament Square. Armed officers stood guard outside the Tube and bomb squad experts and sniffer dogs were brought in to examine the crashed car. Palace Gates, the main entrance to the House of Commons for traffic, was closed until further notice, as were entrances to the Lords and near St Stephen’s Gate. Officers in armoured vests were placed on sentry duty, while armed officers patrolled the estate. A man is held by police after a car crashed into pedestrians outside Parliament / Sky News MPs are away for the summer recess but any parliamentary staff were told to work from home unless they had already arrived at Westminster. Those inside the estate were able to move freely. The incident comes 17 months after fanatic Khalid Masood, 52, mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, before stabbing Pc Keith Palmer to death at the gates of Parliament. In total five people were killed and more than 50 injured. In the wake of the attack on March 22 last year, a network of steel and concrete security barriers was reinforced around Parliament. This morning a police spokesman said: “At 7.37am, a silver Ford Fiesta collided with a number of cyclists and pedestrians, before crashing into barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. The driver of the car, a man in his late-20s, was arrested at the scene by armed officers. He has been taken to a south London police station where he remains in police custody. “There was nobody else in the vehicle, which remains at the scene and is being searched. No weapons have been recovered at this stage.” Forensics officers outside Parliament / AFP/Getty Images The spokesman added: “At this stage, we are treating this as a terrorist incident and the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading the investigation.” Witnesses saw a woman cyclist lying flat on her back being treated by paramedics. Other cyclists were seen looking dazed and shocked amid bikes strewn across the road. Parliament Crash - In pictures 1 /23 Parliament Crash - In pictures A Man detained (circled) by Police on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Sky News Forensic officerS attend the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Alex Lentati Police activity on Millbank, London after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Good Morning Britain Neil Basu Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism makes a statement paul grover Police recover the silver Ford Fiesta involved PA Sky News PA Good Morning Britain A forensic officer attends the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA BBC News BBC News PA Reuters Sky News PA PA Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Police on Westminster Bridge, central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Armed police stand in the street after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster REUTERS Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Police forensics officers work at the scene outside the Houses of Parliament in central London AFP/Getty Images Forensic officers by the car that crashed into security barriers outside Parliament PA<doc-sep>11:14 KEY EVENT What we know so far A driver has been arrested on suspicion of terror offences after a car collided with cyclists and pedestrians before crashing into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. The man, in his late 20s, is being held in custody at a south London police station after armed officers swarmed the scene following the suspected terror attack just before 7.40am on Tuesday. Images posted to social media showed a man, wearing a black puffer jacket, surrounded by police and being led away in handcuffs from a silver-coloured Ford Fiesta. There was nobody else in the vehicle and no weapons were found, Scotland yard said. The force said the crash is being treated as a “terrorist incident” and the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terror command is leading the investigation. Two people were taken to hospital after being treated at the scene for injuries, which are not believed to be serious, the London Ambulance Service (LAS) said. Prime Minister Theresa May said her thoughts were with those injured in the incident and thanked the emergency services for their “immediate and courageous” response. Witness Ewalina Ochab told the Press Association: “I think it looked intentional - the car drove at speed and towards the barriers.” She continued: “I was walking on the other side (of the road). I heard some noise and someone screamed. “I turned around and I saw a silver car driving very fast close to the railings, maybe even on the pavement.” The car appears to have been driven through cyclists before ploughing into the security barrier. Footage shot outside Parliament showed cyclists helping at least one rider lying on the ground as ambulance crews and armed police arrived on the scene. Cyclist James Maker, 30, of Chelmsford, Essex, passed the scene in Westminster minutes later and saw a woman injured on the ground and the car crashed into the barrier. “I looked to the right-hand side and there was a cyclist on the floor, clearly injured,” he told the Press Association. “It was a woman, they were clearly quite injured, they weren’t moving and they were in the recovery position.” Jason Williams, 45, from Kennington, was walking to work when he saw the crash. “I saw a car going at high speed towards Parliament. It hit a bollard,” he told the Press Association. “It looked deliberate. It didn’t look like an accident. How do you do that by accident? It was a loud bang.” Streets around Parliament Square, Millbank and Victoria Tower Gardens were cordoned off as police, ambulances and firefighters arrived. Bus driver Victor Ogbomo, 49, passed the scene just after the crash. “All I saw was the smoke coming out of a vehicle, a silver vehicle ... I just stopped the bus,” he said. “The police said we have to move back, then in less than five minutes the response team came. “They went to the vehicle, so we had to push back. I saw the car in the barrier, I didn’t know how it got there. “I think someone was inside the vehicle because many police went towards the vehicle.” He said officers had their guns out when they arrested the driver. A number of armed police officers remain stationed at a cordon beside Parliament, while Westminster Bridge and Tube station are both closed. The cordon was widened twice and sniffer dogs were seen scanning the area. Scotland Yard said: “”At 7.37am on Tuesday August 14, a silver Ford Fiesta collided with a number of cyclists and pedestrians, before crashing into barriers outside the Houses of Parliament. “The driver of the car, a man in his late 20s, was arrested at the scene by armed officers. “He has been taken to a south London police station where he remains in police custody. “”He was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences. “There was nobody else in the vehicle, which remains at the scene and is being searched. No weapons have been recovered at this stage.” A force spokesman added: “At this stage, we are treating this as a terrorist incident and the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading the investigation.” The Houses of Parliament are surrounded with security barriers of steel and concrete. The measures were extended in the wake of the Westminster Bridge attack in March 2017 when Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, killing four people. Masood abandoned his car then stabbed and killed unarmed Pc Keith Palmer before he was shot by armed police in a courtyard outside Parliament. The terrorist threat against the UK is seen as unprecedented. In addition to five attacks that occurred last year, authorities say they have stopped 13 Islamist and four extreme right-wing plots since the Westminster atrocity in March 2017. Police and MI5 are running at least 500 live operations involving roughly 3,000 active “subjects of interest” at any one time - while there is also a wider pool of more than 20,000 individuals who have previously featured in probes whose threat must be kept under review. Earlier this year, the Government unveiled a refreshed counter-terror strategy. Under the blueprint, MI5 intelligence will be shared with bodies outside the security community in an attempt to stop suspects before attack plots can crystallise, while anti-terror laws are to be strengthened to allow earlier interventions.<doc-sep>The threat of terrorism is a constant concern for Parliamentarians - it's not new. The IRA murdered Airey Neave MP in 1979 in a car bomb that exploded within the palace grounds. And the dilemma remains the same: how best to balance security with guaranteeing that the heart of British democracy remains open to the people.<doc-sep>
C ounter terror police are investigating after a car ploughed into people and crashed into security barriers outside the House of Parliament. Witnesses described hearing screams as a silver car drove "at speed" close to the railings outside Parliament in Westminster on Tuesday morning. Scotland Yard said the Met's Counter Terrorism Command is leading the investigation into the incident but that officers were keeping an "open mind". A man, aged in his 20s, is being held on suspicion of terrorist offences, the force said. Video footage from the scene showed armed officers surrounding a vehicle that had collided with anti-terror bollards. Images showed the silver car with a crumpled bonnet and smoke appeared to be coming from the back of the vehicle. Man detained (circled) after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament / Sky News Footage also showed armed police speaking to someone in the driver's seat and a man being held by officers with his hands behind his back. He was eventually led away from the scene. Parliament Crash - In pictures 1 /23 Parliament Crash - In pictures A Man detained (circled) by Police on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Sky News Forensic officerS attend the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Alex Lentati Police activity on Millbank, London after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Good Morning Britain Neil Basu Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism makes a statement paul grover Police recover the silver Ford Fiesta involved PA Sky News PA Good Morning Britain A forensic officer attends the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA BBC News BBC News PA Reuters Sky News PA PA Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Police on Westminster Bridge, central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Armed police stand in the street after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster REUTERS Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA Police forensics officers work at the scene outside the Houses of Parliament in central London AFP/Getty Images Forensic officers by the car that crashed into security barriers outside Parliament PA Scotland Yard said several people were injured in the crash shortly after 7.30am. Cyclists are believed to be among those injured. Met Police said officers do not believe anybody is in a life-threatening condition. Armed police surround car after it smashes into Parliament security barriers Two people were taken to hospital after being treated at the scene for injuries, which are not believed to be serious, the London Ambulance Service (LAS) said. Scotland Yard later confirmed that a man was arrested at the scene. Cyclist James Maker, 30, of Chelmsford, Essex, passed the scene in Westminster within minutes of the crash to see a woman injured on the floor and the car crashed into the barrier. Armed police guard a cordon in Westminster / PA "I looked to the right-hand side and there was a cyclist on the floor, clearly injured," he said. "It was a woman, they were clearly quite injured, they weren't moving and they were in the recovery position." Fellow cyclists were helping her, he said, adding: "There were a couple of cyclists who had clearly been involved who were sitting on the floor and perhaps had minor injuries." Witness Ewalina Ochab said: "The car drove at speed and towards the barriers." Armed police surround a silver vehicle after it crashed into security barriers in Westminster / Good Morning Britain She said: "I was walking on the other side [of the road]. I heard some noise and someone screamed. I turned around and I saw a silver car driving very fast close to the railings, maybe even on the pavement." "The person driving did not get out" of the vehicle, she said. The vehicle did not appear to have a front registration plate when it crashed, she added.