Good will prevail over the forces of evil

IN COMMENTS on Wednesday night, and again in Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Theresa May rightly condemned the terror attack on Westminster as a “sick and depraved act” and vowed that the “forces of evil” would never be allowed to drive us apart.

But another part of her powerful speech also struck a resounding chord, when she paid tribute to the police and security services whose job it is to keep us safe.

She said: “Once again today, these exceptional men and women ran towards the danger even as they encouraged others to move the other way.”

Exceptional indeed. And in those words she managed to sum up the bravery of these otherwise ordinary men and women and the immense debt of gratitude we owe them.

For many years I have taken part in a spring “field trip” to introduce journalism students to the life of Parliament. This year I did not go, but colleagues and students were there on Wednesday – all thankfully safe, and locked inside Portcullis House, just yards from where a terrorist unleashed bloody mayhem on the street outside.

In previous years I’ve often strolled across Westminster Bridge and I’ve stood outside the gates of New Palace Yard where Pc Keith Palmer was stabbed to death on Wednesday.

And this week I tried to place myself at the scene as panic stricken tourists ran across several lanes of traffic to escape to the relative safety of Parliament Square. What would I do in that situation?

I take little pride when I say that I think, like most people, my instinct would be to run like hell away from the danger and the sound of gunshots that could clearly be heard.

But, as Mrs May pointed out, not everyone behaves in this way. Mobile phone footage of the incident shows police officers, some but not all of them armed, pouring into the danger area, even while they are telling members of the public to flee.

They didn’t know what they would find inside New Palace Yard or on Westminster Bridge – one attacker or dozens, armed with bombs, knives, guns? Who knows? But in a humbling act of courage and self-sacrifice to a man and woman they ran towards the sound of gunshots to do their duty to protect the public.

Not just police officers either. Conservative MP and former army officer Tobias Ellwood also ran towards the incident to see if he could help. One heartbreaking picture shows him performing CPR on Pc Palmer while a woman police officer weeps at his side.

And Wakefield Labour MP Mary Creagh also showed immense presence of mind and calmness as panic was breaking out all around her. After telephoning her Parliamentary staff and telling them to lock the doors and stay inside, she marched into Westminster Tube station and ordered the station be closed to stop other innocents entering the danger area.

Along Westminster Bridge there were many other acts of kindness and courage. As the victims lay broken and bleeding ordinary people stopped to offer what help they could – even though it was not clear the danger had passed.

One photograph shows a young woman cradling the head of a badly injured man, her face almost touching his, in a heartwarming act of compassion on a dark and disturbing day.

Meanwhile, medical staff from nearby St Thomas’s Hospital ran to the bridge to offer emergency assistance – again none of them knew if they were putting themselves in danger, but they went all the same.

Some members of the police and security services, like Pc Palmer, pay the ultimate price. His family now has to come to terms with the fact he will never be coming home. The rest of us should reflect on the fact that we sleep safely in our beds because of the sacrifices of people like Pc Palmer.

The awful events of this week have at least helped bring events into sharp contrast – the depraved blood lust of terrorist killers as opposed to the courage, kindness and compassion shown by ordinary decent people.

This is truly a war between good and evil – and it is a war that we have to win for everybody’s sake.