The car crash that occurred early this morning at the Houses of Parliament is being treated as a potential terrorist incident.
Armed police officers attended the scene in Westminster this morning after a car collided with the security barriers outside the Palace of Westminster.
A man was arrested and several people are known to be injured although the Metropolitan Police have said that nobody is thought to be in a life-threatening condition.
The police released a statement on their website that said: "The Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command is investigating an incident in Westminster this morning during which a number of people were injured.
"At 07:37hrs on Tuesday 14 August, 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 number of people were injured as a result of the collision and they have been taken to hospital.
"At this early stage none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening."
This latest incident brings to mind the terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge in March 2017. On that occasion, Khalid Masood drove a car into a crowd, killing four people. He then abandoned his car and entered the courtyard of Parliament.
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Once inside, he stabbed and killed PC Keith Palmer. Masood was then killed himself after armed police arrived at the scene.
Since that attack, steel and concrete crash barriers have been improved outside the Houses of Parliament. It was into those barriers that the car crashed this morning.
Police have cordoned off the area around Westminster including several main roads. Westminster Underground Station is also closed.
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London Ambulance Service have confirmed that they treated two people at the scene of the incident and have taken them to hospital.
Police have appealed for any witnesses, or people who have photographs and video footage that could be of use to their investigation contact them on 0800 789 321.
Topics: Police, Crash, terrorism, terror, Car, London
