THEY LEFT HIM TO DIE
PC family’s fury at Yard as inquest is told armed police could have killed terrorist — but were 80yds away
THE widow of PC Keith Palmer last night said her husband had been ‘left to die’ during the Westminster terror attack after an inquest found his murder could have been prevented.
Michelle Palmer criticised police chiefs for leaving her unarmed husband to guard one of the world’s most iconic buildings – and ‘top terrorist targets’ – without firearms officers beside him.
Coroner Mark Lucraft QC yesterday ruled that PC Palmer could still be alive today if police marksmen had been at the front gates at the time of the atrocity. Instead, they were 80 yards away.
The inquest also heard that firearms officers had been stationed at the entrance PC Palmer was guarding ‘seven or eight’ years ago – but were subsequently told to carry out roving patrols.
Numerous security reviews, including one just two years before, had found the front gates were particularly vulnerable to attack.
In the wake of Mr Lucraft’s damning verdict, Mrs Palmer said no one at Scotland Yard had taken responsibility for the ‘lax security’ that left him ‘unprotected’ during the assault by terrorist Khalid Masood.
She said she had been ‘let down’ and that the hardest part of her husband’s murder was having to tell their six-year- old daughter, Amy, that her ‘daddy was gone’.
PC Palmer, 48, was guarding the Carriage Gates at the Palace of Westminster in March last year when Masood embarked on his rampage.
After mowing down and killing four pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, he rammed into the Houses of Parliament and burst out with a carving knife and a hunting knife.
Armed only with a baton and CS spray, PC Palmer was held down by Masood and repeatedly stabbed in the face, neck and back after trying to intervene in his deadly assault.
His body armour did not protect him and he died from his wounds just minutes later while witnesses tried to save him.
Masood was finally shot by two close protection officers who only happened to be at Parliament because they were guarding then- defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon. The two armed officers on duty at Parliament on the day of the attack had not gone near the gate for almost an hour beforehand.
They were 80 yards away when PC Palmer was stabbed and could not see the attack unfold.
Since PC Palmer’s death, Scotland Yard has been accused of unfairly blaming the junior officers to hide systematic security failings.
The marksmen insist they were simply following orders by focusing their attentions on another entrance at Parliament that was commonly used by MPs and ministers.
Yesterday, following a four-week inquest, Mr Lucraft said that had the armed officers been stationed at the Carriage Gates, ‘it is possible they may have been able to prevent PC Palmer suffering fatal injuries’.
In the wake of his verdict last night, Mrs Palmer said: ‘How could Keith have been left alone, unarmed, guarding an open gate at one of the most iconic buildings in the world and one of the country’s top terrorist targets? He was left at a vulnerable location with no protection to die.
‘Nobody wants to take responsibility for leaving one of their own officers there unprotected when they knew that police officers were at risk of attack at this vulnerable location.
‘What makes it even worse is that
‘Scotland Yard let Keith down’
this lax security had been carrying on for years and it has taken what happened to Keith for things to change. [Scotland Yard] let Keith down by failing to protect him and let us down by failing to investigate his death properly.’
In a particularly emotional statement, she said the hardest part of her husband’s murder was having to tell their six-year-old daughter Amy that her father had died.
‘The hardest thing was having to tell Amy that her daddy was gone,’ she said. ‘ They were the best of friends and he was her world. Bed times were the hardest for her as that’s when Keith would usually be around to help.’
Her damning assessment of police chiefs came as the inquest into the five victims of the Westminster attack ended yesterday.
Mr Lucraft ruled that PC Palmer and the four pedestrians – Kurt Cochran, 54, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, and Andreea Cristae, 31 – who died on Westminster Bridge were ‘ unlawfully killed’ by Masood. In other developments: Scotland Yard finally apologised for the ‘possibility’ they lost the chance to save PC Palmer.
Mrs Frade’s husband John accused the MI5 of missing a series of chances to prevent the attack.
The coroner called for ‘distressing’ pictures of the victims to be removed from the internet.
The inquest heard marksmen had been stationed at PC Palmer’s gate ‘seven or eight’ years ago but were then ordered to carry out roving patrols – leaving the Carriage Gates vulnerable to attack.
Several security reviews found the entrance to be ‘one of the weakest points in the physical perimeter’ of Parliament.
Another assessment was carried out in 2015 shortly after the UK’s terror threat level had been raised to severe. Once again major flaws were revealed and instructions published telling officers to make regular checks at Carriage Gates. Most firearms officers were unaware of the new tactics and said they had been verbally ordered to continue with roving patrols.
After the attack junior officers said they had been ‘ hung out to dry’ by police chiefs who attempted to blame them for their actions on the day.
Giving his findings at the Old Bailey inquest, Mr Lucraft said: ‘Due to shortcomings in the security system … the armed officers were not aware of a requirement to remain in close proximity to the gates.
‘Had they been stationed there, it is possible that they may have been able to prevent PC Palmer suffering fatal injuries.’
Last night PC Palmer’s parents John and Sylvia Curtis and his sisters Angela Clark and Michelle Palmer welcomed the coroner’s findings but said he should have been tougher in his criticism of the Metropolitan Police.
In a statement, they said: ‘ We expected the Met to welcome an open and transparent examination of this horrific attack on its own officer and members of the public, yet instead senior officers seem to have closed ranks.’