What is being treated as a terrorist attack has happened outside Westminster Palace (Parliament). Editing this in early to stop all the calls for travel bans and hate: [i][b][u]Scotland yard have revealed the attacker to be a British national. [/u][/b][/i] Around 14.40 GMT 22/3 a grey Hyundai was driven onto the pavement and down the length of Westminster Bridge before crashing next to a gate in the perimeter wall of Westminster Palace. The driver then ran into the palace gardens wielding two large knives and attacked an unarmed police officer, before being shot by armed police. Both the attacker and the officer have since died from their injuries. Eyewitnesses reported as many as 12 dead or seriously injured lying along Westminster Bridge and several more in the River Thames. One woman has since been recovered alive though seriously injured from the water. Police, MPs and off duty doctors rushed to help the injured before emergency services arrived, when the doctors helped paramedics and accompanied the victims to hospital. 5 people have been confirmed dead (including the officer and attacker) and 40 injured from 11 different countries, with seven reported as being in a critical condition. [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39363933]More details of the dead and injured can be found here.[/url] A suspicious package was found in the back of the vehicle and Westminster Palace and nearby buildings were evacuated in small groups whilst police sweep parliament for other attackers or explosives. As of 21.00 nothing had been found and the evacuation was complete. Westminster Bridge, Westminster Station, the London Eye and a large section of the Thames were closed and remained closed as of 20.00 local time. The police cordon was extended to several square miles causing heavy traffic along the Embankment and through Chelsea. The police cordon has since been cleared. The attacker has been identified as Khalid Masood, 52, a British citizen of African descent. Masood has no known links to extremism, but was known to police for several offences since 1983 including Grievous Bodily Harm, possession of a bladed weapon and various public order offences. Whilst he had been investigated for extremism in the past by MI5, he was dismissed as a periphery associate at best. It was during one stint in jail that he converted to Islam. Police believe Masood was working alone. Previous reports of Abu Izzadeen were a case of mistaken identity. The two do look similar, but Izzadeen is currently in jail. Whilst ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, Masood is obviously not alive to defend himself and will take time for electronic forensics to confirm or deny his involvement with the terror group. [url=http://www.mcb.org.uk/westminster-attack/]The Muslim Council of Britain[/url] and various world leaders have condemned the attack and offer their thoughts, sympathies and condolences to the people of London and everyone effected by this tragedy. Facebook has set up a check-in for people to mark themselves safe in the aftermath of the attack. More to follow as I receive updates. On a personal note, I was in London just before Christmas and stood exactly where the car crashed into the wall, my brother runs a pub near by. I was too young to really appreciate the 7/7 bombings and this has really hit home. My thoughts are with the victims and the people of London today. Updated 23/3 17.30 Sources: [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-39355505]BBC[/url] [url=https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2017/mar/22/peers-say-brexit-with-no-trade-deal-would-cause-signicicant-damage-to-service-sector-politics-live]The Guardian[/url] [url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/22/man-shot-police-outside-parliament-officer-reportedly-shoots/]The Telegraph[/url] [url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/london-parliament-shooting-live-latest-updates-people-shot-westminster-commons-met-police-theresa-a7643716.html]The Independent[/url] ITV news live coverage