The heroes of Westminster
Last week’s devastating terror attack in our capital failed. We are not frightened, and our faith in humanity was instantly restored by…
Wednesday 22 March 2017 was a day that began like any other. Tourists were admiring the view from the London Eye and strolling over the River Thames to see Big Ben. Londoners were going about their business and children were visiting the House of Commons for an insight into the oldest democracy in the world.
Suddenly, at around 2.30pm, a car swerved onto the pavement at Westminster Bridge, ploughing into at least 40 pedestrians, leaving many injured – some fatally.
Three policemen returning from a commendation ceremony were struck, as were three French teenagers on a visit to London.
Spanish-born Aysha Frade was on her way to collect her two girls from school when she was hit by the car and thrown under the wheels of a bus that killed her.
Romanian Andreea Cristea – in London for her fiance’s birthday – jumped into the river to avoid the car, but was pulled out alive.
But that was far from the end of the evil assault on the heart of
British democracy, in what was later claimed as an ISIS-planned attack.
The car, driven by 52-yearold Khalid Masood, crashed into the gates of the House of Commons. He then attempted to storm his way into the building, fatally stabbing PC Keith Palmer, a 48-year-old married father-of-three who had worked for the Met for 15 years. The fact that the officer was unarmed while on duty as a member of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection service did not prevent him trying to stop Masood, who charged at him with two knives.
Natural instincts
As the horror unfolded, Parliament was placed under lockdown, the London Eye was halted and traffic in the area came to a standstill.
‘This was a day that we’ve planned for but hoped would never happen. Sadly it’s now a reality,’ said Scotland Yard anti-terror officer Mark Rowley.
Yet, even in those terrible moments, London refused to be cowed. Rather than running in fear, people came rushing to help: from cab drivers who stopped to see what they could do, to Tony Davis and Mike Crofts, two former servicemen on a visit to London, who attempted to save the life of PC Palmer.
MP Tobias Ellwood, a former Army officer, even jumped over a fence to give the dying policeman mouth-to-mouth. Asked later what he was thinking, Tobias replied, ‘It was a natural instinct.’
Police called for people to move away as they ran towards the danger themselves. Medics ran to the injured from nearby St Thomas’ Hospital, and passersby comforted the wounded as best they could.
This spirit was summed up perfectly by LBC presenter James O’Brien the next day.
‘I’m certainly not going to let anybody change my town, change my home, change my city, change my people, because you find our freedoms and our enthusiasms offensive. Because you don’t think people can live alongside each other in peace and harmony, you want to build fences and erect walls.
‘The terrorism failed,’ he added. ‘ We’re not terrorised, we’re not frightened. They’re not going to change me and they’re not going to change you.’
Show of support
This sense of unity was only set to grow in the following hours. People from all over the world showed their support. The hashtag #PrayForLondon trended on Twitter, and the London Underground sign with the words ‘ We are not afraid’ also went viral.
Brendan Cox, husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, spoke out. ‘If you look around us, the people who are protecting us, they’re from all faiths and backgrounds, all races and religions,’ he said. ‘ We have to remember that we’re united against these extremists, no matter what their background. If we do that, we’ll succeed.
‘These are extremists. We have to take them on and defeat them, but without making the mistake that they represent the broader group.’
He added that he intended to ‘remember the name of the policeman, not the killer’, because while he understood people wanting to know who carried out the atrocity, he hated seeing coverage given to ‘the hatred and cowardice of the attackers’.
London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, agreed, with a message to those who chose to attack us: ‘ You won’t succeed. You won’t divide us. We won’t be cowed.’
Prime Minister Theresa May echoed the sentiment, adding, ‘ We will never give in to terror.’
Whenever something truly terrible happens, it’s human nature to look for the light. And last week, that wasn’t hard to see. In fact, it positively shone through. In true British style, we are keeping calm and carrying on.