Minister says he feels ‘sense of vulnerability’

DEFENCE MINISTER Tobias Ellwood has said he feels a “sense of vulnerability” on walking towards Carriage Gates in Parliament following the previous attack on Westminster.

Mr Ellwood tried to save the life of a policeman who was stabbed in the Westminster terror attack in March last year.

The former soldier tried in vain to save Pc Keith Palmer, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after he was attacked outside Parliament.

The Minister for Defence, People and Veterans said Tuesday’s incident when a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in a suspected terror attack was a “stark reminder” of previous events.

Mr Ellwood, who was in Westminster shortly beforehand then headed to Scotland, said: “Yes it was an absolutely normal day and... to then learn and follow events was a stark reminder of what happened in 2017.”

He said: “The formidable response by our emergency services, lessons have been learnt, changes have been introduced, we saw officers once again running towards danger, running towards the crashed vehicle.

“The incident was closed down very quickly indeed, a cordon was established and the parliamentary estate was kept safe and so this was very, very positive I think on the wider picture. I was concerned that this was a deliberate attack.”

Mr Ellwood, who lost his brother in the Bali bombings, said: “I think we have to be absolutely resolute and defiant.”

He added: “The terrorists’ objective is to spread fear, to sow division, to coerce us into retreating from tackling terrorism and extremism abroad.”