LONDON TERROR ATTACK
Tears of stunned WPC as her colleague dies on the cobblestones outside Westminster despite the efforts of hero MP who fought in vain to save the married father's life
- Tory MP Tobias Ellwood battled to save life of Keith Palmer after he was stabbed
- Mr Ellwood, 50, gave mouth to mouth and applied pressure on officer's wounds
- Former Army officer has been praised for his actions on social media tonight
- Next to him was a grief-stricken colleague of PC Palmer who had to be led away from the tragic scene after his death
In a cobblestone courtyard by Big Ben, a desperate fight unfolds to save the life of a policeman stabbed by the Westminster terrorist.
Moments earlier his attacker had crashed his car into railings before storming the main entrance to the Parliament complex.
He apparently breached the gates for his final murderous stand-off with police with relative ease – simply running through – before immediately targeting an officer in high-visibility gear.
Witnesses then saw a plain-clothes police officer with a handgun shout a warning before a number of shots were heard.
One onlooker said: ‘When the attacker failed to stop, he shot him from a distance of ten to 15 yards. The attacker fell to the ground. The plain-clothes officer continued to approach him and then, almost standing over him, he appeared to shoot him again.’
PC Keith Palmer, 48, pictured, was later named as the officer who had been killed
The Bournemouth East MP was later pictured with blood on his face as he stepped back to allow the emergency services to take over
One of the first on the scene was Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, 50, who was said to have run towards the injured police officer while most ran the other way.
His face and clothing smeared in blood, the minister heroically fought in vain to stem the bleeding as the stricken officer lay amid the carnage in New Palace Yard.
The politician, a former Army captain, was pictured surrounded by emergency crews as he administered CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the officer.
The MP lost his brother Jonathan Ellwood, pictured, in the 2002 bombing in Bali. The history teacher, who worked at a school in Vietnam, was in Bali ahead of a conference
Still in his jacket and tie, he knelt as he covered the victim’s chest with his hands. The MP then stayed with the injured policeman until an air ambulance arrived and worked with paramedics to save him. Despite their efforts, the officer died at the scene. A few feet away, a separate team of medics were working to save the life of the terrorist. He lay with his bloodied knife by his feet. An armed police officer was standing on the knife and pointing his firearm at the killer.
Last night Mr Ellwood – who lost his brother in the Bali bombing 15 years ago – was lauded as an ‘absolute hero’ for his brave attempt.
It also emerged that another former Army soldier made a desperate attempt to revive the stabbed policeman.
Mr Ellwood, pictured at the scene, said he gave the officer 'mouth to mouth' but they had 'lost too much blood'
Exhaustion and shock on the face of a female officer who was by the side of Tobias Ellwood trying to save her colleague's life
The distraught colleague of PC Palmer is comforted on one side of the scene after the officer's fate became clear
The MP, pictured standing over the victim's body, said he ran over to the stricken officer 'as soon as I realised what was going on'
Tony Davis, a coach for the British Lionhearts boxing team, was due to be at the Commons with students from the Hammersmith Boxing Academy in West London to launch a community project.
A team-mate, who asked not to be named, told the Guardian: ‘The attacker had two knives and was stabbing the officer. Then, shots rang out and the attacker fell to the floor. Tony jumped over a fence and ran to the police officer and tried to revive him. There were lots of officers around, but they were trying to revive both men.’
Mr Ellwood was later pictured with bloodied hands talking to police following his heroic actions
Many people have praised Mr Ellwood on Twitter today for his efforts to save the officer
Some said they would 'vote for him' if he were to become leader of the Conservatives
Others lauded him for his bravery putting himself at risk while rushing to help the injured officer
Speaking just hours after the attack Mr Ellwood, formerly a captain in the Royal Green Jackets, said the attack was a ‘huge tragedy’. He said: ‘I realised what was going on [so] I headed towards it. It is a huge tragedy, it really is.
‘I tried to stem the flow of blood and give mouth-to-mouth while waiting for the medics to arrive but I think he had lost too much blood. He had multiple wounds, under the arm and in the back.’
Mr Ellwood’s brother Jonathan, a 37-year-old teacher, was killed in the 2002 Bali bombing. The terror attack carried out by Islamic extremists claimed the lives of 202 people, including 27 Britons.
The MP, whose Foreign Office brief includes the Middle East, Africa and counter-terrorism, left the Army in 1996 after tours of duty in Northern Ireland and Bosnia but remains a reservist. Last night MPs across the political spectrum and social media users lauded his bravery.
Mr Ellwood, centre, is pictured here with mother Caroline, right, at a 10 year memorial service in 2012
Ben Howlett, the Conservative MP for Bath, called his colleague an ‘absolute hero’. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said Mr Ellwood’s actions were ‘utterly heroic’. He said: ‘Today, Tobias gave MPs a good name.
‘He went above and beyond and did all he could to save a police officer.’ Jake Berry, the Tory MP for Rossendale and Darwen, said: ‘What an amazing and brave action from this former soldier.
‘He showed compassion for everyone who works here in Parliament and every police officer who works to keep us safe.’ Sir Alan Duncan, a Tory minister who works alongside Mr Ellwood at the Foreign Office, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘He was the right man in the right place. He has a military background and he is the sort of person who leaps into action. He is just a proper get-on-with-it guy in a crisis. I’m going to give him a very stiff drink.’
As the drama unfolded at Westminster, police radios inside were heard saying: ‘Armed attack inside gates. Currently shots fired and police officer down and possible stabbing.’ The building and all government departments were put into lockdown. MP Penny Mordaunt, a reserve in the Navy, yelled to colleagues: ‘Gun shots have been fired. This is not a drill.’
In the confusion of the aftermath, the main gates to Parliament remained open for several minutes and universities minister Jo Johnson cycled through. He was ordered off his bike and told to put his hands up by armed officers.
Witness Pat McCormack, 21, from Washington in Tyne and Wear, told how he saw the attacker strike. ‘I saw him stabbing the officer in the back of the head and the back of the neck,’ he said.
‘He was running away but then he collapsed.’
The attack in the Kuta Beach tourist area in Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, including 23 victims from Britain
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