World leaders condemn U.K. Parliament attack

In the wake of the unfortunate terror attack outside the Houses of Parliament in London on Wednesday, political leaders across the world have come forward and condemned the incident in strong words.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May described the attack as "sick and depraved."

May praised the "exceptional bravery of the police and the security services, who ran towards the danger as they encouraged others to move away." She also paid tribute to Palmer.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said London "remains one of the safest in the world," despite today's terror attack

"London is the greatest city in the world," Khan said in a video statement.

 

"We stand together in the face of those who seek to harm us and destroy our way of life. We always have and we always will. Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism."

U.S. President Donald Trump offered his condolences during a call to Prime Minister Theresa May, the White House said.

He also pledged "full cooperation and support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed condolence to the victims and their families.

"On behalf of the United States, I express my condolences to the victims and their families. The American people send their thoughts and prayers to the people of the United Kingdom. We condemn these horrific acts of violence, and whether they were carried out by troubled individuals or by terrorists, the victims know no difference," a statement from Tillerson's office said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also condemned the attack. He said he was shocked and saddened to learn of the innocent people who were killed and injured as a result of this cowardly attack.

"Canada and the UK are the closest of friends and allies. Our friendship is based on shared values and history - indeed, Canada's parliament is a descendant of the chamber targeted this morning. Today's attack on the UK parliament is an attack on democracies around the world. The Canadian parliament withstood a similar attack not so long ago by those who sought to instil fear and divide Canadians against themselves. Instead, Canadians came together. I am confident the British people will do the same, and will emerge from their grief stronger and more united than ever before," he added.

Sushma Swaraj, Minister of External Affairs, India, also showed solidarity with London.

Nancy Pelosi, leader of the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, also released a statement.

"Today, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, survivors, and people of the United Kingdom. The American people share in the outrage and horror at this brutal terrorist attack in London," the statement read.

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, also issued a statement.

"Our thanks and gratitude go to the police and emergency services who responded so bravely, and to those - including the MP Tobias Ellwood - who went to the aid of the injured and dying. This was not only an attack on innocent people. It was also an attack on our democracy. But I know that Londoners and people across the country will stand together in defence of our values and diversity," the statement read.

Gordon Brown, former U.K. prime minister, and Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, also paid their condolences.

The Members of Parliament and members of the House of Lords have been paying tribute to Keith Palmer, the officer who was stabbed to death by the attacker, as well as his colleagues who guard the Parliamentary estate.

Akin to other terror attacks in the recent years, countries like France and Israel showed solidarity with London post the attack.

While the City Hall in Tel Aviv, Israel and the City Council in Birmingham, U.K. lit up, lights went out on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France as an expression of support to the victims of the Westminster attack hours after the lockdown post the incident came to an end.

Five people, including a police officer, died and at least 40 people were injured in the attack.

Assistant Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley named the police officer that has died as Keith Palmer.

Palmer, who was stabbed by the lone attacker attempting to enter the House of Commons, had succumbed to his injury. The suspect was also shot and killed, as reported by The Guardian.

Rowley confirmed that, besides Palmer, three members of the public were also killed.

He, however, declined to give any details of the attacker, but said he was thought to be inspired by international terrorism.

Here are the top developments so far:

. Edge Hill University, in Ormskirk, Lancashire, confirmed that some of its students were injured on Westminster Bridge

. Investigators say they believe they know the identity of the attacker, and that he is thought to have acted alone but was "inspired by international terrorism"

. The Parliament will resume on Friday morning

. Yonhap news agency in Seoul reports that five South Korean tourists were injured in the attack

. Four university students were injured as they were caught up in the attack on Westminster Bridge, the Press Association reported

. Buckingham Palace has announced that the Queen has postponed a planned visit to Scotland Yard on Thursday

. Mark Rowley, acting deputy commissioner of the Met, said hundreds of officers would continue through the night in their work on the investigation into the attack

. The Metropolitan police confirmed that PC Keith Palmer was unarmed

. London Mayor Sadiq Khan sent his condolences to the family of PC Keith Palmer in a Facebook post

. UK foreign minister Boris Johnson, who is in the U.S. for an international meeting discussing the Isis threat, tweeted about the attack in London

. Home Secretary Amber Rudd condemned the attack on "our shared values", but said they would never be destroyed

. The U.K. Parliament confirmed it would be open as usual on Thursday despite the attack on it and the lockdown of Westminster

. Large areas of central London were shut off to and workers in the Palace of Westminster, including MPs, were placed in lockdown for several hours

. In total five London hospitals treated casualties. Staff from St Thomas's, yards from the attack on Westminster Bridge, rushed to help the injured there

. The most seriously hurt were taken to three of the capital's four regional trauma centres - King's College in Camberwell, St. Mary's in Paddington and the Royal London in Whitechapel. The Chelsea and Westminster hospital also dealt with some of the injured

. The flag above Scotland Yard was flown at half mast to honour the heroism of its fallen officer and other victims of today's attack

. King's College Hospital confirmed that the major trauma unit have treated eight victims, six males and two females.

. Steve White, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents tens of thousands of rank-and-file officers, paid tribute to the officers involved in the incident

. Former prime minister David Cameron also tweeted to express shock over the incident

. London Mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement saying that an urgent investigation was underway and his thoughts were with those affected and their families. He also expressed his thanks to the police and emergency services for their rapid response

. Tourists riding the London Eye were stranded on the iconic attraction when the area was locked down after a terrorism incident near the Parliament

. Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the policeman who was stabbed

. The Met police are appealing for pictures or video footage of the incident

. Intelligence agencies have immediately put together teams to work on identifying who was involved in the attack and whether there was a link to a terrorist group

. A police officer was stabbed and his attacker shot after a major terrorist incident at the Houses of Parliament in which several people have been injured

. The attacker mowed down several pedestrians as he drove a grey Hyundai i40 across Westminster Bridge before crashing it into railings then running through the gates of the Palace of Westminster and stabbing the officer

. Witnesses said he was shot by police as he approached a second officer while clutching his knife

. The Port of London Authority confirmed that a seriously injured woman has been recovered from the Thames river, however, it is yet to be confirmed if she fell or jumped from the bridge

. The House of Commons has been put in lockdown, with many MPs confined to the Commons chamber after parliamentary business was suspended

. Plans for a London-wide emergency have been put into place as a precaution, but police are hopeful the incidents are over

. Theresa May is to chair a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee to discuss the immediate response to the incident, Downing Street said

. A Downing Street source confirmed to Guardian that Prime Minister Theresa May was "okay". May was seen being ushered into a silver Jaguar car as what sounded like gunfire rang out at parliament during the incident at around 2.45pm

. The police say no terrorists have got into the parliament building. They say two have been caught on Westminster Bridge, and one officer is down

. It has been confirmed that at least 10 patients have been treated for injuries on the Westminster Bridge

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