Back to work after attack

Photo: The Canadian Press

Lawmakers and lords, researchers and reporters, cleaners and catering staff returned to Britain's Parliament Thursday, as Britain's seat of government shook off its shock and got back to work after an attack that left two civilians and a policeman dead.

The Parliament complex is not just a political cockpit, but something much like a small town — complete with restaurants, shops, post office and hairdresser — in which thousands of people work.

Now, it is a community in mourning.

On Wednesday, an attacker plowed an SUV into pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge, killing two and wounding dozens, then stabbed police officer Keith Palmer inside the gates of Parliament. The assailant was shot dead by armed officers.

"The relationship between the police who guard us and members of both Houses — the Commons and the Lords — is very close," former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell said. "If you come here, within a few weeks they know you. They are unfailingly polite, helpful — and, as we now know, incredibly brave."

Campbell described the mood Thursday as "incredibly sombre." He was returning to work after spending almost six hours Wednesday stuck in his House of Lords office as police locked down Parliament following the attack.

Members of the House of Commons were confined to the chamber and adjoining rooms for several hours — along with visitors including a group of schoolchildren who were kept calm and given candy by lawmakers.

Conservative lawmaker Nigel Evans said parliamentarians quickly realized how serious the situation was. He said he looked down from a window and "saw the SWAT team coming in and shouting," and a terrified young researcher walking towards them with his hands up.

"That will remain with me," said Evans, who survived the 1984 IRA bombing of Brighton's Grand Hotel during a Conservative Party conference. He said Thursday that he was "still in shock."

But across Parliament, shock vied with a determination to confront fear with what Prime Minister Theresa May called "millions of acts of normality."

The giant Big Ben bell bonged reassuringly on the hour, and lawmakers resumed the everyday business of grilling ministers about everything from Brexit to an unpopular proposed incinerator.