Parliament crash: Video shows moment armed police swarm car

Footage taken moments after crash

Footage from the scene of a car crash in Parliament Square shows the moment armed police swarmed the vehicle.

A man has been arrested following the incident, which saw a car plough into the barriers outside the Houses of Parliament, injuring several pedestrians.

Streets around Parliament Square, Millbank and Victoria Tower Gardens have been cordoned off as dozens of armed police swarmed on the scene.

:: Live updates from Parliament Square as armed police descend after car crashes into barriers

In the footage officers can be seen leaping over a metal barrier making their way to the crashed vehicle.

A statement issued by Scotland Yard said: “At 7.37am today, a car was in collision with barriers outside the Houses of Parliament.

“The male driver of the car was detained by officers at the scene. A number of pedestrians have been injured. Officers remain at the scene.

“We will issue further info when we have it.’’

Several witnesses said the crash looked “deliberate” and one described hearing “screams” as the car veered onto the wrong side of the road and ploughed into cyclists.

Barry Williams, a BBC employee who works nearby, said the vehicle appeared to accelerate “as fast as possible” before crashing into a security barrier outside parliament.

“I think it looked intentional – the car drove at speed and towards the barriers,” one eyewitness, Ewalina Ochab, told the Press Association.

“I was walking on the other side (of the road). I heard some noise and someone screamed. I turned around and I saw a silver car driving very fast close to the railings, maybe even on the pavement.”

She said the vehicle did not appear to have a front registration plate when it crashed, adding: “The person driving did not go out.”