A man was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.
The vehicle swerved into cyclists and pedestrians shortly after 07:30 BST, injuring three people. The suspect, in his late 20s, is not believed to be known to MI5 or counter-terrorism police, and is not co-operating with officers. One woman is being treated in hospital for serious but non life-threatening injuries. Scotland Yard's head of counter terrorism Neil Basu said: "Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident."
He added there was "no intelligence at this time of further danger" to London or the UK as a whole. The suspect, who has not been formally identified, is being held at a south London police station and the vehicle is being searched. No-one else was in the car and no weapons have been found. The government's Cobra emergency committee is meeting later. A number of eyewitnesses have said the silver Ford Fiesta, which was travelling westbound, appeared to deliberately hit members of the public as it swerved into the opposite lane.
Footage released by the BBC shows the moment when the car drives over a pedestrian crossing before crashing into the security barriers. A police officer can be seen jumping over another barrier to get out of the way. Following the attack a ComRes survey carried out for BBC Asian Network found that almost a third of British Asians say they have been treated worse following a terrorism attack. Muslims (40%) were most likely to have experienced a rise in negative treatment, followed by Sikhs (26%).
The poll also implied British Asians were less likely than others in the UK to say immigration is too high. More than 2,000 British Asians responded to the poll as part of the BBC's Big British Asian Summer.
Among those who said they had been treated worse, the most common observation was that they had been treated with more awkwardness (59%) and more suspicion (53%). Just under a third said other people had been abusive, while 11% said they had been excluded from events. Tony Arbour AM, Chairman of the London Assembly, said: “Our thoughts are with those injured in this cowardly attack outside Parliament in Westminster. Thankfully, no one has suffered life threatening injuries.
“We thank the emergency services who responded so well and praise the swift and decisive actions of the Met to apprehend the driver of the car involved. We urge anyone with any video or photo evidence to contact the police immediately. Londoners will remain steadfast and resolute that such heinous actions will not divide the people of this city but will make us stronger.”
