London: Defiant British lawmakers returned to parliament Thursday but outside, the forensic work and eerie absence of people and traffic at one of London’s most popular tourist spots was a poignant reminder of the previous day’s terror.
MPs and peers, aides, staff and journalists returned to work a day after a police officer was killed and his assailant shot dead on the cobbled yard of the Palace of Westminster in an attack claimed by the ISIS.
The House of Commons chamber was packed for the minute’s silence in tribute to the victims, before MPs held a planned session on international trade, insisting it was “business as usual”.
But just outside, forensic officers worked in a blue tent at the scene of the attack, before later combing the ground in a fingertip search for evidence.
At a location normally characterised by noisy traffic and hoards of tourists coming to see the world-famous building, the streets were silent. Westminster’s Underground station was closed, while Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey and adjoining roads were cordoned off —although Westminster Bridge re-opened around lunchtime.
Parliament was locked down for several hours after the attack, in which the suspect rammed his car into crowds of people on the bridge, leaving two members of the public dead and dozens injured.
Prime Minister Theresa May had been working not far from the scene, but was swiftly driven away.
On Thursday, she returned to the Commons to update MPs on the investigation and led tributes to the victims and the emergency services.
“This country will not be cowed,” she said, watched from the Commons gallery by French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who was in London to visit three French schoolchildren hurt in the attack.
Conservative MP James Cleverly was in tears as he paid tribute to the murdered policeman, with whom he had previously served in the army.
