FOUR people have died and around 29 others have been injured in the Westminster terror attack, Scotland Yard's top anti-terror officer Mark Rowley has confirmed.

A knifeman brought terror to the heart of Westminster, mowing down pedestrians then stabbing a policeman to death before being shot dead by armed officers on Wednesday afternoon.

The police officer who died was named by Scotland Yard as Keith Palmer, a 48-year-old husband and father.

In an update at 6pm, police said they were satisfied there was only one attacker, but said they locked down the area so it can be searched thoroughly.

And in a statement in Downing Street at 9pm, Prime Minister Theresa May paid tribute to the "exceptional men and women" of the police force who responded to the attack.

She confirmed that a single attacker drove a car into pedestrians walking on Westminster Bridge, killing two of them, before running with a knife through the front gates of the Palace of Westminster, where he killed a police officer before being shot dead.

She vowed that "the forces of evil" would never be allowed "to drive us apart".

Mrs May said that any attempt to defeat the values that Parliament stands for was "doomed to failure".

And she vowed: "We will all move forward together, never giving in to terror and never allowing the voices of hate and evil to drive us apart."

The UK's terror threat level would remain at "severe", Mrs May said.

She praised the bravery of the police officers "who keep us and our democratic institutions safe".

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have been affected, to the victims themselves and to their families and friends, who waved their loved ones off but will not now be welcoming them home.

"For those of us who were in Parliament at the time of this attack, these events provide a particular reminder of the exceptional bravery of our police and security services who risk their lives to keep us safe.

"Once again today, these exceptional men and women ran towards the danger, even as they encouraged others to move the other way."

Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror as the attacker was shot several times as he approached a second officer within yards of the Houses of Parliament.

Paramedics fought to save his life and that of his victim on the floor of the cobbled courtyard in front of Parliament with Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood among those who rushed to help.

MPs from the North-East are among those who were locked down in the Houses of Parliament as the event unfolded.

The Northern Echo:

Witness: Pat McCormack, 21, from Washington, Tyne-on-Wear

Pat McCormack, 21, from Washington, Tyne-on-Wear, was among a group from Great British Boxers who were leaving a press conference ahead of the World Series Boxing event against Italy in York Hall on Thursday when they came face to face with the alleged assailant.

He said: "I saw him stabbing the officer in the back of the head and the back of the neck.

"He was running away but then he collapsed.

"I wasn't scared.

"I just couldn't believe what was happening."

Colleen Anderson, a junior doctor at St Thomas' hospital, said a woman was killed as the attacker drove a grey Hyundai across Westminster Bridge before crashing it into railings then running through the gates of the Palace of Westminster.

She also said she treated a police officer in his 30s with a head injury who had been take to King's College hospital.

She said: "I confirmed one fatality. A woman. She was under the wheel of a bus.

"She died. Confirmed her death at the scene."

On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Theresa May was chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee to discuss the immediate response to the bloody incident.

Mrs May ordered flags to be lowered to half mast over Downing Street as a mark of respect to the innocent people who lost their lives.

The Cobra committee brings together government ministers with senior officials of the emergency services and security and intelligence agencies.

Meeting in a briefing room of the Cabinet Office on Whitehall, Cobra co-ordinates the high-level response to serious incidents, and has previously gathered after terrorist atrocities, including the July 7 attacks on the London transport network and the murder of soldier Lee Rigby.

There was no immediate information on who was attending Wednesday night's meeting, which took place around four hours after the attack.

A Number 10 spokesman said Mrs May was being kept updated about the investigation.

"The thoughts of the Prime Minister and the Government are with those killed and injured in this appalling incident, and with their families," said the spokesman.

"The Prime Minister is being kept updated and will shortly chair COBR."

The White House said US President Donald Trump spoke with Mrs May to "offer his condolences on today's terror attack in London and his praise for the effective response of security forces and first responders.

"He pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice."

The attack left a trail of destruction as paramedics tended to victims on the bridge and at the gate.

Mrs May was seen being ushered into a silver Jaguar in the grounds of the palace as what sounded like gunfire rang out at around 2.45pm.

Eyewitness Rick Longley described the attack.

"We were just walking up to the station and there was a loud bang and a guy, someone, crashed a car and took some pedestrians out.

"They were just laying there and then the whole crowd just surged around the corner by the gates just opposite Big Ben.

"A guy came past my right shoulder with a big knife and just started plunging it into the policeman.

"I have never seen anything like that. I just can't believe what I just saw."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "There has been a serious incident near to Parliament Square this afternoon which is being treated as a terrorist attack until the police know otherwise.

"I have spoken to the Acting Commissioner. The Metropolitan Police Service is dealing with the incident and an urgent investigation is under way. My thoughts are with those affected and their families.

"I would like to express my thanks to the police and emergency services who work so hard to keep us safe and show tremendous bravery in exceptionally difficult circumstances."

Pat Glass, MP for North-West Durham, said as the drama was unfolding: “I am locked in parliament.

"We have been told that there were shots outside of Portcullis House. There are people injured on Westminster Bridge. A vehicle was driven into the main gates. The whole place is on lockdown.

“We cannot move. You are where you are. I am on the principal floor in the house and those people in the chamber are locked in the chamber. It is a bit scary in here at the moment.

“I did hear shouts from the bridge and we heard policemen shouting, but we could not make out what it was. Everybody has to stay where they are. They are saying it is a major terrorist incident.”

Speaking later on BBC5 Live, Ms Glass added: "They are clearing the House room by room.

"I have never seen so many armed police in my life and there's always a lot here. They are going from room to room, corridor to corridor, and they are evacuating people as they go.

"At the moment we are fine. We are all stood outside."

Ms Glass was talking while with a group of schoolchildren visiting Parliament. They are not from the North-East, it is understood.

"I think we are more concerned about the children, but there is a sense of calm," she said.

"The police are doing their job and they are doing it really well and we are trying to make sure that we make it as easy as possible for them.

"They know what they are doing, they are experts."

Adding to her earlier comments about the incident itself, she said: "There are people hurt or even killed on the bridge. There is a policeman who has been stabbed.

"The really terrifying thing is we could hear voices, presumably policemen shouting 'armed police, put your hands in the air'. When that is very close to you that's bit frightening."

Andy McDonald, Middlesbrough MP and shadow transport minister, said Parliament appeared to be in “lockdown” as he was trying to get back to Westminster.

“We’ve just been out on a trip with Transport for All, a disability transport group, and we were just approaching Westminster Bridge when it was shut off,” he said. “We’re not really sure what’s happening at the moment.

“We are going to try to get as near as we can to the offices but Parliament would appear to be in lockdown.”

One journalist in Portcullis House, which is opposite the Houses of Parliament, said they heard gunshots and were “in the middle of it” and didn’t know what was happening.

Redcar MP Anna Turley tweeted: "Awful news. My staff and I are in lock down inside here. Thinking of all those dealing with the scenes outside."

Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson told The Northern Echo he was not at Westminster as he was travelling north for a dental appointment but had spoken to his office worker who confirmed the Parliament building was in lock-down.

He said she was safe and was locked in a room and reported seeing “streams” of well-armed police on Westminster Bridge.

Witnesses described seeing a middle-aged man carrying a knife and running.

The Northern Echo:

Jayne Wilkinson said: "We were taking photos of Big Ben and we saw all the people running towards us, and then there was an Asian guy in about his 40s carrying a knife about seven or eight inches long.

"And then there were three shots fired, and then we crossed the road and looked over. The man was on the floor with blood.

"He had a lightweight jacket on, dark trousers and a shirt.

"He was running through those gates, towards Parliament, and the police were chasing him."

Her partner David Turner added: "There was a stampede of people running out.

"You saw the people and you thought 'what the hell is going on'."

Radoslaw Sikorski posted a video to Twitter purporting to show people lying injured in the road on Westminster Bridge.

Mr Sikorski, a senior fellow at Harvard Centre for European Studies, said he saw at least five people lying on the ground after being "mown down" by a car.

"I heard what I thought what I thought was just a collision and then I looked through the window of the taxi and someone down, obviously in great distress," he told the BBC.

"Then I saw a second person down, and I started filming, then I saw three more people down, one of them bleeding profusely."

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones had just voted in the House of Commons and was stood behind the Speaker's chair when a security advisor ran in to inform them of the situation.

He said Prime Minister Theresa May had also just voted and was quickly taken away according to her security protocol.

He said he had been told unconfirmed reports by security that a vehicle had come down Westminster Bridge, knocking down several pedestrians and then the driver climbed on to the roof of his vehicle to get into the Palace of Westminster complex.

Mr Jones was located in the chamber in the centre of the Palace of Westminster with other people.

“I didn’t hear the shots myself. I had just voted and one colleague said he had just walked past someone lying on the floor in the Palace Yard in the complex," he said. 

"Then security procedures kicked in and there was a full lockdown.

“We’re in a very significant incident right now. I can hear helicopters overhead. We don’t know all that has happened.

"We’re waiting to hear what to do next. The doors are all locked and effectively we have to stay exactly where we are.”

He said security services were following an established security protocol and MPs were following their instructions.

“This is entirely new in my experience,” he said.

“Everybody has been asked to stay exactly where they are and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“Colleagues are obviously very anxious and we’re trying to get information, but right now everybody wants to give the security services time to do their jobs properly. Right now people are making calls to their family and friends and offices back home to say everything is well and do not worry.”

Middlesbrough MP Tom Blenkinsop tweeted: "Thoughts and prayers for our brave police officers,security staff,parliamentary staff & members of the public."

Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah tweeted: "For information I & my Westminster staff are fine, shaken thinking of the police who protect us & all those we are told have been injured".

Richmondshire MP Rishi Sunak is at the House of Commons, but he and his staff are said to be unhurt.

His spokesperson in his constituency office, Malcolm Warne, said: “All we know is that he’s ok and staff in the office are ok. Nobody really seems to know what’s going on at the moment.”

The Bishop of Newcastle, the Right Reverend Christine Hardman, has said: “We weep with those affected by the events at Westminster.

“We offer heartfelt prayers for the injured, the members of our emergency services, and all who work and serve in the Palace of Westminster.”

The Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Dave Jones, said: “By now many people will have seen news coverage of the attack that took place at Westminster earlier today. 

"I would like to reassure the public that there is no intelligence to suggest that there has been any change in the level of risk here in North Yorkshire. 

"Nevertheless, in line with other police forces, we will continue to keep our contingency planning under close review, and make careful assessments of the security around any special events.

"On behalf of North Yorkshire Police I would like express my deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones, or who have suffered as a result of this attack. 

"Our thoughts are with those people, and with our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police and other emergency services at this difficult time.”

  • Are you from the North-East and did you see the incident? Email newsdesk@nne.co.uk or call 01325-505065.