Scotland Yard on Tuesday said its counter-terrorism command was investigating a morning incident in which a man drove his car into the barricades outside the houses of parliament in Westminster, injuring pedestrians and cyclists.
“At this stage, we are treating this as a terrorist incident and the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading the investigation”, the police said.
Driving vehicles into pedestrians had been a feature of terror attacks in London in 2017.
Parliament is not in session during summer holidays, but the area is a popular destination among tourists and visitors.
A statement by police said: “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.”
The man was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences.
Some of the injured were taken to hospitals but their injuries were not considered to be life-threatening. The Westminster tube station was closed, as the police threw a security cordon around the area.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said her thoughts were with those injured in an incident outside parliament.
First Published: Aug 14, 2018 15:20 IST
