Blood on the streets and panic in parliament after shots rang out

It was politics as usual until 2.40pm. Outside Westminster, tourists were taking selfies with Elizabeth Tower in the background. The Houses of Parliament were buzzing with the business of Brexit and enlivened by groups of children who were visiting to see the spectacle of prime minister’s questions.

Theresa May was attending a meeting behind the Commons chamber, yards from where the attack took place. She and David Davis, the Brexit secretary, left to vote in the chamber. The first hint of the chaos unfolding outside came when Mr Davis returned alone.

“All he said was there’d been a shooting,” one official said. “And nobody could leave.”