British parliament in lockdown after terror attack

LONDON: The British parliament is in lockdown after a police officer was stabbed and the alleged assailant shot by police in what authorities are treating as a terrorist incident.

Several people were injured on a nearby bridge in a separate incident.

Although exact details are yet to emerge, it is believed a man armed with a knife attempted to force his way past a security check-point at the front of parliament and attacked a police officer.

The attacker was then shot by police.

In a separate incident, several people on nearby Westminster Bridge were run over by a vehicle, which then crashed into railings outside parliament.

David Lidington, the leader of the House of Commons, told lawmakers: "It seems that a police officer has been stabbed, that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police.

"An air ambulance is currently attending the scene to remove the casualties.

"There are also reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity of the Palace of Westminster but I hope colleagues on all sides will appreciate that it'd be wrong of me to go into further details until we have confirmation from the police and from the House security authorities about what is going on." – Reuters/Variety.com