Here is David Lidington’s statement to MPs about 20 minutes ago in full.
Colleagues will have appreciated that events have been moving rapidly and I want to emphasise that the knowledge that I have which is definite is so far very limited. What I am able to say to the House is that there has been a serious incident within the estate. It seems that a police officer has been stabbed; that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police. An air ambulance is attending the scene to remove the casualties. There are also reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity.
Police officer stabbed, and attacker shot by armed officers, MPs told
Jamie Grierson
Commons leader David Lidington has told MPs a “police officer has been stabbed” and the “alleged assailant was shot by armed police” following a serious incident within the parliamentary estate, PA reported.
At the moment the very clear advice from the police and director of security in the house is we should remain under suspension and the chamber remain in lockdown until we receive advice that it is safe.
Minutes after the incident, an emergency services helicopter landed in Parliament Square, as sirens were heard outside.
Air ambulance medics came from the helicopter to assist the casualties.
Two people lay on the ground in the yard. One of them appeared to have had clothes removed as emergency workers attempted to resuscitate the pair.
Parliament Square was closed to traffic.
An ambulance entered the gates to New Palace Yard.
Witness Don Brind told the Press Association he heard shots being fired and saw two people apparently injured on the ground.
Brind, a researcher for MPs, said: “I heard some shouting and saw some running out of the corner of my eye and then a short time after that there was a shot. I looked and I saw a civilian on the ground, with somebody standing over him with what I assumed to be a gun.
“Then I looked and about 10 yards away, there was a yellow jacketed person on the ground, who appeared to be alive and talking.”
He said he assumed the person in the high-visibility jacket was a police officer.
Pictures emerged of a car having crashed into the railings of Parliament at the end of Westminster Bridge
Press Association reporter Laura Harding, who was in Westminster at the time of the incident, said: “Everyone has been evacuated into Central Lobby, including a group of schoolchildren and kitchen staff.
“Around 15 schoolchildren aged around 10, with armed police coming through the lobby now.
“The children are really calm, the teachers are comforting them.
“Everyone is standing around on their phones.
“There are also a bunch of young people from the Hammersmith Boxing Club in their tracksuits and the British Lionhearts boxing group.”
Dennis Burns, who was just entering Parliament for a meeting when the security alert happened, told the Press Association: “As I was coming through the doors at Portcullis House, a policeman grabbed someone who was coming in and threw him out.
“As we were coming though the glass doors I was told by one security guard to get out while another one told me to get in.
“As I walked in I heard a security guard get a radio message saying ‘a policeman has been stabbed’.
“Then I walked in as police officers and security start rushing out of the front doors on to the street.
“When I got inside I was wondering what the hell was going on and I saw dozens of panicked people running down the street. The first stream was around 30 people and the second stream was 70 people.
“It looked like they were running for their lives.”
Radosław Sikorski, a Polish politician, has spoken to the BBC saying:
I didn’t see a car but I heard what I thought was a collision, I looked through the window of the taxi and I saw someone down obviously in great distress.
He then saw a further four people down on the ground, “one bleeding profusely”, he said.
