Lockdown follows Westminster rural awards

Emergency personnel on Westminster Bridge, close to the Palace of Westminster, London. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

A reception to celebrate the winners of the Countryside Alliance Awards was held in the Cholmondeley Room this afternoon and it finished shortly before gunfire rang out in the grounds of Westminster Palace at around 2.45pm.

At least two people have died after a knifeman brought terror to the heart of Westminster, mowing down pedestrians then stabbing a policeman before being shot by armed officers.

Speaking from inside the palace, Tom Hunt, a spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, told The Yorkshire Post that he believed everyone involved in the organisation’s celebratory event earlier in the day was okay, although he and others involved in the awards were still being kept inside.

Mr Hunt said: “Everyone seems okay as far as we are aware. We had a team of SAS people come through about an hour and a half ago (around 4pm).

“We have SAS guards left, right and centre. I’ve been here now for about the last nine hours. The whole thing has been absolutely mad, out of this world.”

Earlier in the day, there had been cause to celebrate for Yorkshire enterprises at the awards.

The Ross family of Lawns Farm Shop in Morthen near Rotherham was named the Countryside Alliance’s Local Food Champion and Beverley Food Festival was highly commended in the Tourism Enterprise category.

The Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom also gave a speech at the event.