Chester MP Chris Matheson confirmed he is safe but currently in the House of Commons which is on lock-down following reports of gun shots outside Parliament in what is now regarded as a terror attack.

MPs have been told to stay in the chamber for their own safety after reports of a police officer being stabbed and the assailant being shot by armed police.

It has just been confirmed that at least one person is dead.

An Air Ambulance outside the Palace of Westminster, London, after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Palace of Westminster. Photo credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
An Air Ambulance outside the Palace of Westminster, London, after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Palace of Westminster. Photo credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Mr Matheson told The Chronicle: "We have been told there has been an incident. We are told there has been a shooting and we have been locked in the chamber.

Chester MP Chris Matheson

"A police officer has been injured first and foremost and that is what is exercising our minds most of all. The assailant has been shot.

"There are also reports of civilian casualties and everyone is concerned about that. We are waiting for the all clear from the police. We don't really know what's going on inside the Palace let alone outside the chamber."

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Fellow Labour MP Justin Madders, of Ellesmere Port and Neston, has just tweeted that the Leader of the House is reporting the latest situation to members.

Commons leader David Lidington has just made the following address to MPs: "Colleagues will have appreciated that events have been moving rapidly and I want to emphasise that the knowledge that I have which is definite is so far very limited. What I am able to say to the House is that there has been a serious incident within the estate.

"It seems that a police officer has been stabbed; that the alleged assailant was shot by armed police. An air ambulance is attending the scene to remove the casualties. There are also reports of further violent incidents in the vicinity."

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The BBC is reporting that witnesses have seen people being treated for injuries and a man with a knife in the palace grounds.

Police close to the Palace of Westminster, London, after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Palace of Westminster. Photo credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
Police close to the Palace of Westminster, London, after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Palace of Westminster. Photo credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said police told her someone had been shot.

Police outside the Palace of Westminster, London, after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Palace of Westminster. Photo credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire
Police outside the Palace of Westminster, London, after sounds similar to gunfire have been heard close to the Palace of Westminster. Photo credit: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Scotland Yard said it was called to an incident on Westminster Bridge amid reports of several people injured following a possible attack using a vehicle.