NEW WHITEHALL KNIFE TERROR
Dramatic moment the suspect is arrested with backpack full of knives
ARMED police foiled a second terror attack at Westminster yesterday when they swooped on a suspected jihadist carrying up to seven knives in a rucksack.
At least 10 officers forced the bearded suspect to the ground yards from where PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death last month after what is believed to have been a tipoff from the man’s family. Crowds of
tourists watched in astonishment as the suspect lay face down on a traffic island, three of the knives spilling out of his backpack.
The 27-year-old man was arrested near the Houses of Parliament where Khalid Masood stabbed PC Palmer after killing four people on Westminster Bridge on March 22.
As officers handcuffed him, he smirked at tourists as they took his picture. One passer-by yelled: “Go to hell!” as the man was put in a police car.
Last night the suspect, who sources say holds a British passport and lives in London, was being held under the Terrorism Act as it emerged he was the target of a joint operation between MI5 and Scotland Yard.
Parliamentary staff said last night they believed police had been tipped off by the suspect’s own family.
Theresa May praised the police and Britain’s spies for thwarting another terrorist outrage.
The Prime Minister said: “It shows that our police and intelligence and security services are on the alert as they always are, looking to keep us safe and secure.
“I would say that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to these people, many of whom are unseen, unheard, yet the job they do day in, day out to keep us secure is a really important one and we should thank them for it.”
The suspect was surrounded by police marksmen around 2.20pm as he strolled along Parliament Street with a backpack “stuffed with knives”.
Ian Grant, 56, said: “First there was one, then two police officers and then they all came from nowhere like a swarm of bees.”
He added: “An armed cop with a rifle came past me. I thought it was just a drill at first.
“Then he shouted, ‘Armed police, stop!’ and they got this guy down on the ground.
“When they shouted at him, he didn’t resist or say a word, he just put his hands up and stopped.
“Then they got the cuffs on him in the central reservation. Loads of people had stopped and were watching what was going on.”
Witnesses were struck by the way the suspect appeared to remain calm. Mr Grant said: “He was just walking along normally but he must have known they were after him because he didn’t say anything when they stopped him. It was uncomfortable seeing that happen. It wasn’t scary at first. It all happened so fast. But given what happened a month ago, it makes you really nervous.”
A French tourist said: “We saw the man being arrested. He was very calm. They got him on the ground and then stood him up against the wall.”
Chris Kacyk, 27, shouted at the suspect after getting off a bus close to the scene. “About three of them had his face up against a wall, so I didn’t see his face, and they were checking he didn’t have any more weapons,” he said.
“There were a number of items on the ground. There were a lot of knives, like between five and seven. He had a brownish rucksack. The police were searching and examining the inside.
“He wasn’t being aggressive or stressful. He wasn’t asking any questions. It was just like a normal occurrence. He was wearing a black hoodie and when they led him away he had the hood pulled over his head. It was quite an emotional situation so as they put him in the police car, I shouted something like, ‘Go to hell!’ because of what happened on March 22.
“If something like that had happened again, it would have been terrible, really horrible.”
Police cordoned off the area and some buildings were in lockdown for around two hours as a precaution. A Yard spokesman said: “A man was arrested in Whitehall following a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation.
“He was arrested in Parliament Street, junction with Parliament Square, by armed officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Firearms Command.
“The man, aged in his late twenties, was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
“Knives have been recovered from him. He is being detained under the Terrorism Act at a south London police station.”
The spokesman added: “Detectives from the Counter Terrorism Command are continuing their investigation and as a result of this arrest there is no immediate known threat.”
‘The police came from nowhere like a swarm of bees. He didn’t resist’