How one open gate let knife maniac in to kill

POLICE were facing serious questions last night over how the knife-wielding terrorist was able to enter the Parliamentary estate.

There were unverified claims that no armed officers had been on duty at the main Carriage Gates, facing Parliament Square, which the Prime Minister uses to enter the House of Commons.

They are also used by other MPs, staff and visitors. At least four staff are usually stationed at the gates, two outside and two inside.

The entrance is also blocked by metal barricades and barriers. Although armed guards routinely patrol the grounds, they are not stationed permanently at a fixed position at the main gate. It is understood the officers work a ‘fluid’ patrol pattern so potential terrorists do not know where they are located.

Labour MP Mary Creagh urged the authorities to step up security following the atrocity.

‘The one weak spot on our estate is those Carriage Gates,’ she said. ‘We have four police officers there. Two on the gate going in, two on the gate going out. We see them every day, we’re friends with lots of them.

‘I think we will need to look at security at the Palace in the wake of this incident but this is a plan for another day. It’s a terrible, terrible day for Parliament.’ Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of UK forces and a security expert, said: ‘He shouldn’t have been able to get in and this shows there must have been a lapse in security with big consequences. People will have questions to answer.

‘It is such a high profile target and they should consider there is permanent coverage of armed police at the main gates.

‘ This should not have happened. There’s been an element of complacency because the security services have been so effective. Lessons have to be learnt.’

A House of Commons spokesman said last night: ‘The security of Parliament is our highest priority, and therefore we cannot comment on the details of this ongoing incident.’

The Parliamentary Security Department is responsible for security for both Houses and works alongside the Metropolitan Police Service, which provides armed and unarmed policing. Civilian security officers on the site were, until last year, employed by the Met but are now Parliamentary employees. They often have the job of letting cars in and out of the gate, it is understood. The Prime Minister last night chaired a 45-minute meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to plot the immediate response to the attack. Theresa May brought together Government ministers, police officers, security agencies and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The session in Whitehall was addressed by Acting Met Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley, Britain’s most senior anti-terror police officer. Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who had been on a visit to Pakistan to discuss counter-terror, cut short her trip and was returning home last night. Mr Rowley said: ‘The people of London will see extra police officers – both armed and unarmed – out on our streets. We can call on the support of the military should we need to at a future point.’ It is understood that security is being stepped up at rail terminals. Senior fig- ures have repeatedly warned the UK remains a major target. The official threat level is ‘severe’ – meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’.

It was revealed this month that 13 potential attacks have been thwarted in Britain since the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013, while counter-terrorism units are running more than 500 live investigations. Experts have warned of the threat posed by extremists carrying out unsophisticated but deadly attacks using knives or vehicles as weapons.

A recent study found the proportion of plots in the UK involving knives has soared from 4 per cent to 44 per cent.

Baroness Pauline Neville- Jones, a former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, said: ‘It is the kind of terrorist incident that’s very hard to deal with because, as we now know, this is the kind of incident that can be mounted without necessarily leaving any kind of trail which the police and security services and intelligence services can actually pick up to prevent it.’