UK parliament sealed off after police officer stabbed

[Sarah]

Hope everyone in London is safe my friends

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-39355505

• A police officer has been stabbed at the Houses of Parliament

• The Commons Leader said the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police"

• Met says it is treating it as a "terrorist incident until we know otherwise"

• The area around Parliament has been sealed off

• Transport for London said Westminster underground station has been shut

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I've just been watching it unfold on the live stream. Just awful. The more information that becomes available the worse it seems.

The response from emergency services has been very impressive indeed.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Dreadful, i havent seen or heard the news yet
I see that woman has died from a car hitting pedestrians on bridge

What a world we live in
Some sick people around

 

[Emelee]

It's exactly 1 year after Brussels, right? Terrorists sure like anniversary bombings.
(Just assuming this was a terrorist attack, as it sounds like one)
May terrorists forever burn in hell, or wherever they end up.

Stand together, with love, against all evil. The good will always win!

 

[Swami]

I have said it before, and will say it again - the old principle of "get your retaliation in first" is long-overdue in being implemented. Whilst it is very difficult to predict a lone attacker, as appears in this case, decidedly to ram his car against innocent pedestrians, surely when the background of this guy comes to light, there must have been opportunities to pick him up.

In Northern Ireland bloodthirsty IRA monsters tried to destroy us but failed, and this generation of warped individuals will also fail.

The UK must stand together.

Swami

 

[Angela Channing]

Horrific news. I can't help but recall how many times I've walked over Westminster Bridge and think there but for the grace of God. There have been so many terrorists attacks in London during my lifetime but whenever there is another one it is still totally shocking.

 

[Sarah]

Thank God you're ok @Angela Channing - you were one of the first forum friends I thought of.

 

[Angela Channing]

Thank God you're ok @Angela Channing - you were one of the first forum friends I thought of.

Thanks Sarah.

I was on Westminster Bridge only last Thursday afternoon taking photos for a project I'm working on. Had I decided to go just a few days later I could have been there during the attack. Thankfully, I wasn't but I feel so bad for those that were harmed and for their families.

 

[Rove]

My deepest sympathies to all those in London. Aussies and Poms may like to poke fun at each other on occasion but events like this have us stand united. Keep strong.

 

[Barbara Fan]

the more i have seen of the news the sadder i feel and also angry that people choose to live with hatred in their hearts and who have no place to carry it out in the name of their religion

my sympathies go to keith Palmer - the brave policeman, and the 2 others from USA and UK/Spain who also lost their lives
I believe the American Kurt Cochran was in London to celebrate his anniversary and his wife was seriously injured
Thats heartbreaking
and to Aysha Frayde who has young daughters
and to everyone who has been hurt, injured or involved in this awful crime and attack on our democracy

from the bottom of my heart i want to thank the Police and people who serve us to make our country and people safe from these TERRORISTS of a particular religion

The image that will stay with me is that of the Tory Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood, covered in blood on this clothes and his face, giving first aid to PC Keith Palmer, its shocking and dramatic and i take my hat off to him for that act and for doing that in the Poilcemans final minutes on this planet. How do you get over that and get back to living without flashbacks to that awful moment.

I also found the tribute from Conservative MP and former colleague James Cleverly very emotional in the Commons and have tears in my eyes watching so much of the footage and bravery of people who came to help

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39363933

 

[Angela Channing]

I agree with the comments of SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson who said in Parliament today "No terrorist outrage is representative of any faith and that we re-commit ourselves to strengthening the bonds of tolerance and understanding." The attack had nothing to do with Islam or any other religion but everything to do with wickedness, extremism and terrorism.

 

[Barbara Fan]

RIP Leslie Rhodes, aged 75, the 4th victim
Condolences to his friends and family

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Andreea Cristea - the woman who fell into the Thames during the attack - has become the fifth fatality.

 

[Sarah]

Terrible. I really hoped she'd pull through

 

[Barbara Fan]

so sad, my heart goes out to her boyfriend and her family. It was awful to see the footage of her going over the wall on westminster bridge and into the Thames

i watched this on the news the other day and cried, how sad, like all the other victims, to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when a nutcase goes on the rampage all in the name of a religion - god help us all from these mad men. (and women)

pS why does Kate dress like a pensioner ?? She looks years older than she is, in most of her gear.

 

[Angela Channing]

when a nutcase goes on the rampage all in the name of a religion

There is no evidence that the attack was done in the name of any religion and it could just have likely been motivated by hate or mental instability within the individual that carried it out and had nothing to do with his religion.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Im sure there will be a huge turnout by the Police, local people / Londoners for his funeral tomorrow, he deserves it and i hope his family get some comfort from that, his death has touched peoples hearts

The body of PC Keith Palmer, killed in the Westminster attack, is lying in rest at the Palace of Westminster ahead of his funeral on Monday.

The Queen has consented to the rare honour for the officer.

PC Palmer, 48, was guarding the Houses of Parliament when he was stabbed by Khalid Masood, who had driven into crowds on nearby Westminster Bridge.

Five victims died in the attack on 22 March, during which Masood was shot dead by police.

PC Palmer, who was married with a five-year-old daughter, had served in the Metropolitan Police for 15 years.

Crowds gathered outside the Palace of Westminster to pay their respects as a group of officers wearing white gloves met the hearse.

The guard of honour was formed by officers on PC Palmer's team at the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.

Draped in a police flag, his coffin was taken to the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft, where it will lie in rest for 24 hours.

Inside, a short private service to receive the body into the chapel was led by the Rev Prebendary Rose Hudson-Wilkin and attended by members of the Palmer family.

The command officers will watch over his coffin throughout the night.

The honour of lying in rest in Parliament has in the past been reserved for senior politicians - most recently Baroness Thatcher and Tony Benn.

On Monday, shortly before 13:30 BST, PC Palmer's body will be accompanied by a special escort to Southwark Cathedral for a full police funeral.

The fifth victim of the attack, Romanian Andreea Cristea, 31, who fell into the River Thames, died in hospital on Thursday.

The other victims were Aysha Frade, 44, who worked at a London sixth-form college, US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, from Utah, and retired window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, from south London.

Romanian ambassador to the UK, Dan Mihalache, said it was thought Masood's car had mounted the pavement and hit Ms Cristea's boyfriend Andrei Burnaz before pushing her into the river.

Relatives of those killed joined members of the Royal Family at a "service of hope" at Westminster Abbey on Wednesday.

 

[Barbara Fan]

If i lived in LOndon, i would have lined the streets to pay my respects to this brave man, who gave up his life to keep us safe

The funeral of PC Keith Palmer, who was killed in last month's Westminster attack, has taken place at Southwark Cathedral in central London.

Thousands of police officers lined the route of a 2.6-mile funeral cortege starting at the Palace of Westminster.

PC Palmer, 48, who was married with a five-year-old daughter, was guarding the Houses of Parliament on 22 March when he was stabbed by Khalid Masood.

A floral tribute left on top of his hearse read: "No 1 daddy".

The cathedral service, which was attended by around 50 members of PC Palmer's family including his wife, child, parents, brother and sisters, is to be followed by a private cremation.PC Palmer was killed as he tried to stop Masood enter the Houses of Parliament. Masood, who had already driven into people on Westminster Bridge, was shotOfficers from all over the country travelled to London to line the route, while others held a two-minute silence at 14:00 BST outside police stations as the funeral service began.

Two police helicopters performed an aerial salute known as a "missing man formation" above the cathedral, where the helicopters bowed to the right.

• Roy Ramm, a former Met Police Commander, said it was a "painful irony" to see officers ride motorcycles clearing the way for their colleague's funeral cortege.
  "Normally they would be doing this for members of the Royal Family," he said.
  "What must be going through their minds to be doing it for a fallen colleague?"
  Special sergeant Matthew Warden, from Nottinghamshire, said he had made the journey "because we are all one big family".
  Special constable Amanda Stansfield, from West Yorkshire Police, said she wanted to "show support" for her London colleagues.
  Members of the public also gathered to watch the funeral cortege, while screens were erected outside Southwark Cathedral to broadcast the service.
  Campbell McBryer, a retired counter-terrorism officer who served with Sussex police for 23 years, said he was "proud" of the support people had shown.
  "I just sat and cried when I heard the news," he added.
  Another well-wisher, David Lewis, from Orpington, said it was important for ordinary Londoners to pay their respects.
  "It just shows as a country that we want to pay our respects to somebody that gave their life to protect the rest of us," he said.
  The Metropolitan Police said more than 5,000 officers from the force and across the country were expected to gather in central London for the service and to line the route, which has seen dozens of roads closed to traffic for hours.
  Son, husband, brother - and daddy
• The usually bustling streets of Southwark were still this afternoon as people gathered to remember PC Keith Palmer.
  Hundreds of officers - some of whom would have been colleagues - lined the roads as the funeral cortège made its way from Westminster to Southwark Cathedral.
  Retired officers, members of the ambulance service, young cadets, tourists and office workers were among those in the crowds.
  One former officer told me the huge sense of pride he felt for the "police family" across the country today. He just "had to be here", he added.
  Overhead, loudspeakers filled the air with organ music as the hearse arrived and rows of police officers bowed their heads.
  While composed, many were visibly upset as their fallen colleague was led past them.
  PC Palmer's police family has been very visible today, but at the centre of this afternoon's service was a much smaller family.
  The floral tributes around his coffin served as a reminder - "Son", "husband", and "brother".
  But leading them all on the front of the hearse, emblazoned with roses : "No 1 daddy".
  "I don't think we will have ever seen a police funeral of this size," said Sara Thornton, who leads the National Police Chiefs' Council.
  She said Keith "didn't hesitate to act" when confronted by Masood.
  "His bravery and his courage are something that all officers are very proud of, but also there is a tremendous sense of sadness and of loss."
  PC Palmer's body had been lying in rest at the Palace of Westminster by special permission of the Queen.
  The coffin was taken to the palace's Chapel of St Mary Undercroft on Sunday and received by a guard of honour from his police branch, the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
  Members of his family attended a short private service in the chapel on Sunday, before officers watched over his coffin throughout the night ahead of the procession on Monday.
  The Very Reverend Andrew Nunn, the dean of Southwark Cathedral, told the BBC that it was important that the family could grieve privately and for the public to pay their respects.
  "I hope for the family they receive the comfort that they need through the service," he said.
  "They're having to grieve publicly and that must be a very, very difficult thing."
  PC Palmer, who had served in the Metropolitan Police for 15 years, also had his name added to the National Police Memorial, which records the names of officers who have been killed in the line of duty, during a special ceremony in London.
  Image copyright PA Image caption PC Palmer's name has been added to the National Police Memorial in London The funeral is the first engagement for new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, who read a poem, WH Auden's Funeral Blues, during the service.
  Ms Dick said it had been "an enormous privilege" to take part in the "sad and poignant" ceremony.
  "He arrested extraordinary numbers of criminals," she said.
  "But he was genuinely also a friendly face of British policing."
  Flags were flying at half mast above New Scotland Yard to honour PC Palmer.
  Before attacking PC Palmer, Masood had driven his car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, causing injuries that have resulted in four deaths.
  Romanian Andreea Cristea, 31, who fell from the bridge into the River Thames, died in hospital on Thursday.
  Aysha Frade, 44, who worked at a London sixth-form college, US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, and retired south London window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, were also killed.
  Masood was shot by police officers in New Palace Yard, inside the Westminster estate, after he had fatally stabbed PC Palmer.

 

[Barbara Fan]

in memory of

THE POLICE officer shot dead by an Islamic State fanatic in Paris last night has been named as Xavier Jugele - an emergency responder to the Bataclan massacre.

he was interviewed only 5 months earlier at the reopening of the Bataclan on 5live radio- and they replayed it this morning, very moving
RIP Xavier Jugele, like so many others - you should not have died.

 

[Barbara Fan]

The police officer murdered in March's Westminster attack has been awarded a posthumous bravery medal by the Queen.

PC Keith Palmer's George Medal recognises actions that "saved lives".

Gallantry awards also go to pensioner Bernard Kenny, who went to the aid of murdered MP Jo Cox, and to two men who helped after the Tunisia beach attack.