Eerie silence in Westminster after attack
LONDON: A bloodied rag lay on the cobbles as two forensic officers worked in a blue tent nearby. But it was the silence yesterday that was the most poignant reminder of the terror attack at Britain’s parliament.
Where normally there is noisy traffic, crowds of tourists and busy-looking MPs and officials walking in and out, the Palace of Westminster – cordoned off since Wednesday afternoon – was eerily quiet.
The only sounds were the helicopters circling above and the fountain in New Palace Yard, still gushing water just feet from where police officer Keith Palmer was stabbed to death and his suspected assailant was shot.
Parliament was locked down during the attack, in which the suspect first mowed down scores of people on nearby Westminster Bridge, leaving two members of the public dead and dozens injured.
Westminster’s Underground station remained closed early yesterday, while Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey and several key roads were closed off. But the Houses of Commons and Lords were open and will sit as normal in a show of defiance – even allowing in members of the public to watch, as usual.
“What we’ve got to do is not give in to terrorism today. We will pay tribute to what has gone on. What we will do is continue as the House of Commons. We will not give in to terrorism, and terrorism will never ever win,” Lindsay Hoyle, the deputy speaker of the House of Commons, told Sky News television.
A bouquet of flowers lay next to the security cordon outside Westminster Abbey as a tribute to the victims, while a single bloom was tucked into the knot of the police tape.
A minute’s silence will be held at 0933 GMT across the building, marked by the ringing of the division bells that normally call lawmakers to vote.
Flags on government buildings around Westminster flew at half-mast, but many people were walking or cycling into work as usual. Parliamentary staff were escorted into the palace through a side entrance, through the House of Lords coatroom.
There were respectful exchanges between staff, while armed police stood silently on guard. In the cobbled yard, the bloodied rag was the only remnant of the frantic scenes where a minister and emergency services tried in vain to resuscitate Palmer, a 48-yearold husband and father. — AFP