POLICE arrested a man yesterday on suspicion of terrorism after he drove a car into the security barriers of the Palace of Westminster.

Scotland Yard said the driver, a man in his late twenties, was arrested at the scene by armed officers following the incident at around 7.40am which injured at least three people.

Counter-terrorism head Neil Basu said that the suspect, who is reported to have been known to police in the Midlands but not to MI5, was “not currently co-operating.”

Footage shows a silver Ford Fiesta crashing into a number of cyclists before hitting a barrier situated near the visitors’ entrance next to the House of Lords.

Witnesses described it as having been a “deliberate” attack.

Geoffrey Woodman from Battersea had stopped at the traffic lights by Parliament Square on his cycle to work when the car swerved into cyclists and towards the security barriers.

“I was getting off the bike and put my foot down, then there was a sound like tyres screeching,” he said.

“This car turned round to the left and swerved into the wrong lane of traffic and into the bank where all the cyclists wait.”

He said most people managed to jump off their bikes to safety, but one woman who “seemed in some distress” was clipped by the bonnet of the speeding car.

Paramedics from a passing ambulance, captured on camera passing behind the car, stopped to help the cyclists, while police arrived on the scene “within 10 seconds,” Mr Woodman said.

Jason Williams from Kennington, south London, was walking to work when he saw the crash and heard a “loud bang.”

He said: “It looked deliberate. It didn’t look like an accident. How do you do that by accident?”

The London Ambulance Service confirmed three people had been treated at the scene and two people had been taken to hospital.

One woman has been taken to hospital with “serious but not life-threatening” injuries and a man has since been discharged.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called the incident “appalling, shocking and clearly very disturbing.”

He said: “My thoughts are with those hurt and injured outside Parliament this morning in what is being treated as a terrorist incident.

“Our thanks go to our emergency services who responded immediately. Their bravery keeps us safe day in, day out.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan strongly condemned the attack and said that police had confirmed the incident was being treated as a terrorist act.

He said: “All Londoners, like me, utterly condemn all acts of terrorism on our city.

“The response of Londoners today shows that we will never be cowed, intimidated or divided by any terrorist attack.
 
“My heartfelt thanks goes to the brave first responders who were so quickly on the scene following the attack.
 
“The message from the police is to remain calm and vigilant.”

A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said the terror threat level remains severe and has described the crash outside Parliament as “shocking.”

Parliament is surrounded with barriers made of steel and concrete. The measures were extended in the wake of the Westminster Bridge attack in March 2017 when Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds, killing four people.

Lamiat Sabin is the Morning Star’s parliamentary reporter.