‘HEARTBREAK’ OF MP WHO TRIED TO SAVE OFFICER’S LIFE
AN MP who tried to save the police officer who died in the Westminster terror attack said he is “heartbroken” that his efforts were unsuccessful.
Tobias Ellwood ran towards gunfire to help PC Keith Palmer, who was stabbed in Wednesday’s attack by terrorist Khalid Masood.
The foreign office minister was pictured with blood on his face and clothes as he tried to give PC Palmer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and stem the blood amid the carnage in New Palace Yard, but the officer died from his injuries.
The former soldier said he was just doing what he was trained to do as he praised the “humbling” and “overwhelming” messages of support from the policing fraternity.
He intends to write to PC Palmer’s family to offer his condolences and said he was “honoured” to be appointed to the Privy Council, alongside security minister Ben Wallace, in recognition of their roles in responding to the atrocity.
Mr Ellwood, who has been branded a hero for his actions, said in a statement: “I am heartbroken that I could not do more for Pc Keith Palmer who gave his life in holding the line against terrorism and defending democracy. I shall be writing to the family of PC Palmer to offer my sincere condolences.
“It is right that despite the terrible events on Wednesday, Parliamentary business continued the next day as usual, the democratic machine was not interrupted and our way of life did not stop.
“I’m deeply humbled and overwhelmed by the messages of support, especially from the policing fraternity, which I now realise is as close knit as the military’s in supporting its own.
“I played only a small part that day, doing what I was taught to do, and am honoured to have been invited to join the Privy Council afterwards.
“It is right that we concentrate our thoughts on the victims as we stand side by side to protect all that we hold dear, including our precious values and way of life which will always prevail.”
Meanwhile, fears the terrorist responsible for the attack, Khalid Masood, was groomed for extremism in prison have heightened after it was claimed he turned to Islam behind bars.
Counter-terrorism officers have spent days piecing together what led the 52-year-old to shed his birth name and later unleash carnage.
Only one man, 58, arrested in Birmingham remains in police custody after a 27-year-old man was released with no further action yesterday.
A total of 11 people were initially held after raids across the country including a search of a house in Trelech, Carmarthenshire, where it is understand Masood’s mother and stepfather live.
It remains unclear whether the attack which left four dead and scores injured was carried out alone or with support.
The Saudi Arabian embassy in London said Masood worked in the country for several years, raising the possibility he was radicalised overseas.
A childhood friend of the man then known as Adrian Elms told The Sun newspaper he first emerged as a Muslim after serving a jail sentence.
Mark Ashdown, 52, said: “When he first came out he told me he’d become a Muslim in prison and I thought he was joking.
“Then I saw he was quieter and much more serious.
“I gave him some cash-in-hand work for a few months as a labourer.
“He said he needed time to pray and read the Koran – something about finding inner peace.”
He added: “There were still flashes of the old Ade, but they were few and far between.
“I heard he’d split from his partner and got even more deeply into religion. But nothing could have prepared me for hearing his name on the radio.”
His abrupt religious conversion will fuel concerns about the rising threat of criminals being brought under the influence of hardened jihadists while in prison.
Ministers have announced plans to create specialist units within jails to tackle what a government-ordered review last year concluded was a “growing problem”.
His route to extremism could have also come from a stint living in the Middle East.
The Saudi embassy said Masood lived in the country between November 2005 and 2006 and April 2008 and April 2009, during which time he worked as an English teacher on a work visa, travelling to the country again for five days in March 2015.
It said in a statement: “During his time in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Masood did not appear on the security services’ radar and does not have a criminal record in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Details of Masood’s history of criminality have continued to come to light, suggesting a propensity for violence which laid the groundwork for his armed rampage on Wednesday.
Unarmed PC Keith Palmer was knifed after the killer blazed a trail of destruction by driving a car at pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and