Betrayed by the Yard

THE more we hear from the inquest into the Westminster terror attack, the clearer it is that PC Keith Palmer was shockingly betrayed by his senior officers.

Take the revelation that acting Metropolitan Police chief sir Craig Mackey locked himself in his car with two civilian colleagues as he watched Khalid Masood stab the unarmed constable to death.

No doubt this was correct procedure. But how his conduct contrasts with the heroism of MP Tobias Ellwood, who ran towards danger to help the dying PC Palmer.

More disturbing still is the question of why unarmed officers were left guarding the gates of one of the country’s most obvious targets for terrorism. This was despite the fact that concerns had been raised years earlier. shouldn’t Lord Hogan- Howe, Met Commissioner at the time, be summoned to explain why the warnings weren’t acted on?