Westminster vehicle ban considered after terror crash
The transport secretary hints the area outside parliament could be made vehicle-free in the wake of a suspected terror attack.
Wednesday 15 August 2018 11:18, UK
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has told Sky News "there may well be a case" for pedestrianising parts of Westminster in the wake of another suspected terror attack.
On Tuesday, a car ploughed through a group of cyclists before smashing into a security barrier outside the Houses of Parliament, sparking fresh calls for a rethink of the space in front of the iconic building.
A 29-year-old man, named by Sky sources as Salih Khater, is being held on suspicion of preparing a terror act.
His arrest comes less than 18 months after Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians in Westminster before stabbing a police officer to death within Parliament's gates.
A series of other recent foiled terror plots have also targeted Westminster.
Mr Grayling told Sky News "there may well be a case for pedestrianisation" of part of Parliament Square.
But, the cabinet minister added: "We've got to do that carefully, we shouldn't just take an on-the-hoof response to what was a very disturbing incident."
The transport secretary spoke after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick revealed she expects hold talks with security services about whether vehicle traffic could be banned from parts of Westminster.
She admitted on Wednesday that vehicles appear to have become a "weapon of choice" for terrorists across Europe, as she raised the prospect of greater measures to protect London's most famous sites.
The Scotland Yard boss told LBC Radio: "You will notice that the security around parliament both in terms of armed officers and police officers and physical barriers has been further enhanced over the last several months and there is more to come on that in further months.
"Whether that area outside should be pedestrianised further, there should be further physical works done, I think is a matter that will be discussed no doubt between parliamentary authorities, us, the intelligence agencies and indeed the local authorities and the mayor."
Ms Dick praised the Met's "extremely courageous" officers following Tuesday's "horrible attack", following which armed officers immediately apprehended the driver of the car.
She added there is a "balance to be drawn" between a greater security crackdown and disrupting people's' daily lives.
"Vehicles are on our streets all the time, we have crowds on our streets as well," Ms Dick said.
"Terrorists want us to completely change our way of life, they want us to be afraid and they want us to stop doing what we want to do to lead a normal life in the UK.
"We are not going to give in, we are not going to just change our lifestyle.
"But, it is important we take reasonable measures - as I think we have being doing over the last several months - to try and make sure that the most iconic sites, including those in central London, are well protected."
Tory MP Nigel Evans, a former House of Commons deputy speaker, believes Tuesday's alleged attack will "reignite the debate" over whether Parliament Square should be pedestrianised.
In June, Labour MP Mary Creagh, the chair of the Commons environmental audit committee, claimed pedestrianising the space outside parliament would solve problems with pollution and congestion.
Prior to his election as London mayor, Sadiq Khan claimed it was a "national disgrace that one of our most iconic squares is choked with traffic" as he highlighted the upcoming multi-billion pound refurbishment of Parliament would be the "perfect opportunity" to rid part of Parliament Square of traffic.
In 2008, Boris Johnson scrapped an £18m scheme by Ken Livingstone, his predecessor as London mayor, to pedestrianise Parliament Square.