UK police treating crash as terrorism

Speeding car hits cyclists outside Parliament; one man in custody

LONDON — Police flooded central London streets and cordoned off the city’s government district Tuesday, after a speeding car plowed into cyclists and crashed outside Parliament in what authorities were treating as an act of terrorism.

With the driver in custody, counterterror detectives were working to uncover the motive behind what they suspect is the fourth vehicle attack in Britain — and the second on Parliament — in 18 months.

“Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident,” Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, Britain’s top counterterrorism officer, told reporters.

A rooftop camera recorded the silver Ford Fiesta driving past Parliament and suddenly veering sharply to the left, striking cyclists, then crossing the road and crashing into a barrier outside Parliament. Armed police surrounded the car within seconds, pulling a man from the vehicle. Police said the driver was alone and no weapons were found in the car.

Three people were hurt, none critically.

Police arrested the 29year-old driver, a resident of England’s Midlands region who was not previously known to counterterrorism police or the intelligence services. Basu said the suspect was not cooperating with police.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said the man, whose name was not released, was a British citizen originally from another country.

Police said detectives were searching two properties in Birmingham and one in another Midlands city, Nottingham.

Police said they did not believe there was any ongoing threat from Tuesday’s incident. After a meeting of the government’s crisis committee, COBRA, officials said Britain’s terrorism threat level would remain at “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely. It has briefly been raised to the highest level, “critical,” after some previous attacks.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who was on vacation in Switzerland, praised “the formidable courage of our emergency services and urged the public “to remain vigilant.”

“The twisted aim of the extremists is to use violence and terror to divide us,” May said in a statement. “They will never succeed.”

Frank Augstein / Associated Press Forensics officers work near the car that crashed into security barriers outside Parliament Tuesday. A man was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offenses.