A man has been arrested on on suspicion of terrorist offences after a car ploughed into pedestrians and cyclists outside Parliament.
The vehicle was seen careering through Parliament Square in Westminster before smashing into a barrier.
Armed police swooped on the scene and dramatic footage shows officers pull the driver out of the silver Ford at gunpoint.
Those who were nearby have told of how they had to “run” as the scene unfolded in central London at around 7.30am.
The Met Police confirmed a number of pedestrians have been injured in the incident, which occurred during rush hour this morning.
Police urged Londoners to remain vigilant, adding: "At this stage, we are treating this as a terrorist incident and the Met's Counter Terrorism Command is now leading the investigation."
Terrified eyewitnesses said it appeared the car was deliberately driven into the victims and barriers, and they ran for their lives fearing it was another terror attack in central London, the Mirror reports.
The incident happened at the height of the morning commute and put the Palace of Westminster and surrounding area on lockdown.
Afterwards, the man who was arrested was not cooperating with detectives, and police were still trying to formally identify him, said Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, head of Scotland Yard's Counter-Terror Command.
Video shows horrifying series of events
The harrowing incident was captured on a number of CCTV cameras in the area.
The footage shows the police pulling up and surrounding the driver of the car that had smashed into security barriers.
Westminister Incident: Timeline of events
7.40am: Car is seen careering through Parliament Square
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At around 7.40am a car is seen driving erratically through Parliament Square, first crashing into a group of cyclists. The driver then moves off through the roads in the square before smashing into a barrier.
Hundreds of officers swarm the scene
Seconds later, police officers storm the scene and pull the driver of the vehicle at gunpoint - understood to be a man in his late 20s.
Reports say he did not resist arrest and remained in the car until the police arrived.'Smoke and flames were coming out the vehicle'
Bus driver Victor Ogbomo, 49, was driving passengers past the front of Westminster when he saw the crash.
“All I saw was the smoke coming out of a vehicle, a silver vehicle ... I just stopped the bus,” he said.
“The police said we have to move back, then in less than five minutes the response team came.
“They went to the vehicle, so we had to push back. I saw the car in the barrier, I didn’t know how it got there.
“I think someone was inside the vehicle because many police went towards the vehicle.”
He said officers had their guns out when they arrested the driver.
Car hits cyclists and pedestrians 'at 40mph'
There were scenes of panic and chaos as the car crashed at 40mph, leaving victims injured on the floor in the aftermath, say eyewitnesses.
Police assemble cordon
Police assemble a cordon around Parliament Square and beyond into Westminster.
Westminster tube station is closed and no-one is allowed in or out of the barriers.
The cordon remains in place as investigations take place.Parliament workers told to stay away from windows fearing follow-up attack
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Workers trapped inside parliament square buildings were told to hide in basements and stay away from windows.
Scott Hawkins, who works in IT support for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in Westminster, was given the warning by police - sparking fears of snipers or a follow up attack.
He said: “Police advised us to stay in the basement of our building as being near windows is a security risk right now.
“I was walking through Parliament Square just before the crash so I missed the actual event.
“The police have put our building on lockdown.
“I have no idea when we will be allowed out.
“They’re going to give us an update at 11am.”11am: London Ambulance confirm third person injured
London Ambulance Service have confirmed a third patient was treated at the scene - but was not taken to hospital.
In its latest statement the emergency service said: “Two patients were treated at the scene and taken to hospital and a third patient with minor injuries was assessed at the scene.”11.30am: MET Police release official statement
The Metropolitan Police release an official statement.
The Met Police’s assistant commissioner speaks to members of the press about the incident.Suspect is "not cooperating"
Neil Basu said “The man is not co-operating with authorities at this stage.”
Suspect not known to the authorities
Neil Basu was asked whether the driver was someone that was known to officers or counter intelligence agencies, to which he replied: “We haven’t formally identified him yet and it’s too early to make that judgement.
“On the details that we have at this moment we don’t believe this person is known to either MI5 or counter-terrorism police.”
A deliberate attack but unknown motive
Neil Basu asked whether the vehicle was deliberately driven at police officers in a targeted attack, to which he replied: “We can’t say that at this time. It certainly appears to be a deliberate attack act but the motivation is we can’t say.
Transport police putting on extra patrols throughout the city
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British Transport Police (BTP) said it would be putting extra officers on patrols in England, Scotland and Wales on Tuesday afternoon and into the evening following the Westminster terror attack.
Superintendent Chris Horton from BTP said: “We know incidents such as this are likely to cause concern, so our officers will be highly visible both on board trains and at stations.
“We are there to reassure the travelling public, so please don’t be alarmed if you see our officers, including firearms officers, on your journey.”
Cobra meeting to be held at 2pm today
A meeting of the Government’s emergency cobra committee will be held at 2pm.
This afternoon’s Cobra session will be a meeting of officials, with no cabinet ministers expected to attend at the moment, No 10 said.
Prime Minister Theresa May is currently away in Switzerland on the second leg of her summer holiday.
No other suspects
Scotland Yard says there are no other suspects for the Westminster terror incident at this time, only the man arrested early this morning and there is "no intelligence at this time of further danger" to people in the capital
12.40pm: Forensic officers continue to work at the scene
Suspect is 'believed to be from the midlands'
Sources from Sky News confirm the suspect is believed to be from the midlands.
Westminster Tube is open again
Westminster Tube station has re-opened.
Tourists seen posing just a few feet from suspected terror attack
Photos have emerged of tourists posing for selfies on Westminster Bridge, just metres away from the scene of the suspected terror attack.
Eyewitness says 'Car hit cyclists on wrong side of road before swerving into barrier'
Barry Williams told the Victoria Derbyshire show: “I heard a commotion and turned around to see a silver car heading towards the cyclists on the other side of the road. They were parked waiting for the lights to change.
“It hit the cyclists then swerved over towards where the safety barrier is where police make sure cars go through.
“It accelerated and hit it at quite a high speed.
“I wasn’t sure whether he meant to hit the cyclist they may just have been in the way but he accelerated hard towards the barrier
“Police were very fast they vaulted over the safety barrier and headed towards the car followed by obviously loads of armed police who were in the area.
He said the police then pushed people back from the crash.
“when it hit the barrier there was quite a lot of smoke and it hit with quite a jog - It actually came off the ground and landed again because it’s quite a light car.
“(Police) rushed to the scene and they grabbed the bloke but then they seemed to walk away.
“After police got to the car they then started pushing us back towards where the lights were and that’s when I walked past and saw lots of pedestrians but also the cyclists -there was a few on the ground - some were holding their arms.
“There was bikes everywhere.”
He then added: “It was frightening but that’s why I was walking backwards - you never know who's in the car.”
Attack condemned by many
In a statement on the attack, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said “all Londoners, like me, utterly condemn all acts of terrorism on our city”.
“The response of Londoners today shows that we will never be cowed, intimidated or divided by any terrorist attack,” he said.
PM Theresa May has praised the response from the emergency services:
Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn wrote: "My thoughts are with those hurt and injured outside Parliament this morning in what is being treated as a terrorist incident.
"Our thanks go to our emergency services who responded immediately. Their bravery keeps us safe day in, day out."
US President Donald Trump has tweeted a typically inflammatory statement following the incident.
He wrote: “Another terrorist attack in London...These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!”
Official statement from The Met Police from Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu in relation to this morning's incident in Westminster:
"At 07:37hrs a silver Ford Fiesta was involved in a collision in front of the Houses of Parliament.
That vehicle collided with cyclists and pedestrians before hitting a barrier and coming to a stop.
Two people have been taken to hospital.
One man has been discharged and one woman remains in hospital being treated for serious but thankfully, non-life threatening injuries.
Another man was also treated at the scene but didn’t require hospital treatment.
The driver of the Fiesta, who was alone in the vehicle, was arrested at the scene by armed officers who were already nearby.
The man, who is in his late 20s, was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences and has been taken to a south London police station where he remains in custody.
“Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method and this being an iconic site we are treating this as a terrorist incident and it is being led by officers from the counter-terrorism command.
“Officers are searching the vehicle and no other weapons have been found at this time.
“At this early stage of the investigation no other suspects have been identified or reported to police.
“There is no intelligence at this time of further danger to Londoners or the rest of the UK connected to this incident.
“Our priority now is to formally identify the suspect and establish his motivation if we can.
“He is not currently co-operating.
“However, as you would expect detectives form the counter-terrorism command are making various other urgent enquiries to ensure there is no outstanding risk to the public.
“Clearly we are treating the scene as a crime scene so cordons are likely to remain outside Parliament for some time.
“Thank you to the public for their patience whilst we deal with the incident.”
"Following questioning about whether police were pursuing the vehicle - as many believed they could see in CCTV of the incident - Mr Basu said: “No, I’ve heard that this morning .There wasn’t a police car in pursuit of the vehicle.
“I believe it was an ambulance on a completely unrelated call.”
Mr Basu was then questioned about whether the vehicle was deliberately driven at police officers in a targeted attack, to which he replied: “We can’t say that at this time. It certainly appears to be a deliberate attack act but the motivation is we can’t say.
He was then asked whether the driver was someone that was known to officers or counter intelligence agencies, to which he replied: “We haven’t formally identified him yet and it’s too early to make that judgement.
“On the details that we have at this moment we don’t believe this person is known to either MI5 or counter-terrorism police.”
Anyone with information that could assist with the investigation can call 0800 789 321.
Anyone who may have footage or images of the incident is asked to send them to police via: www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk
Timeline of recent terror attacks in UK
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed its Counter-Terrorism Command is leading the investigation after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament.
It comes just 11 months after a partially exploded bomb was left on a Tube train - the last major incident to rock Britain.
Here is a timeline of attacks in recent years:
September 15, 2017: A partially exploded device planted on a District line train left more than 51 people injured.
Ahmed Hassan, 18, was jailed for at least 34 years for planting the Parsons Green tube bomb which caused a huge fireball.
June 19, 2017: One man dies and several others are injured after a man rammed his van into worshippers in north London.
Darren Osborne, 47, of no fixed address in Cardiff - who had been radicalised by far-right material, was jailed for at least 43 years after being found guilty in February of murder and attempted murder.
June 3, 2017: Eight people are killed in a terror attack around London Bridge.
A van ploughed into people on the bridge before the three attackers carried out a knife rampage in Borough Market. The perpetrators - Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22 - were shot dead by police.
May 22, 2017: Twenty-two people - including children - are killed in a bombing at a pop concert in Manchester.
Lone suicide attacker Salman Abedi detonated an explosive device as crowds of music fans, many of them youngsters, left Manchester Arena following a performance by US singer Ariana Grande.
March 22, 2017: Five people are killed in a car and knife attack in Westminster.
Khalid Masood drove a hire car over Westminster Bridge, near the Houses of Parliament, mounted the pavement and hit pedestrians before crashing into railings outside the Palace of Westminster.
He stabbed Pc Keith Palmer, 48, to death. Also killed in the atrocity were US tourist Kurt Cochran, Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea, 31, and Britons Aysha Frade, 44, and 75-year-old Leslie Rhodes. Masood was shot dead by police.
June 16, 2016: Labour MP Jo Cox is murdered outside her constituency office in Batley, West Yorkshire.
The mother-of-two, 41, was shot and stabbed multiple times by right-wing extremist Thomas Mair. He was later handed a whole-life prison sentence for her murder.
May 22, 2013: Fusilier Lee Rigby is murdered by Islamist extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.
The 25-year-old serviceman was walking near his barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, when the pair rammed him with a car before attempting to hack off his head with knives. The killers were jailed at the Old Bailey in February 2014.
July 7, 2005: Four suicide bombers kill 52 and injure hundreds of others in blasts on the London Underground network and a bus.
Twenty-six died in the bombing at Russell Square on the Piccadilly line, six in the bombing at Edgware Road on the Circle line, seven in the bombing at Aldgate on the Circle line, and 13 in the bombing on a bus at Tavistock Square.
