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Westminster terror attack: Hero MP fought to save fatally injured police officer

A Government minister fought to save the life of the policeman who was stabbed in the grounds of Parliament today.

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Former army officer Tobias Ellwood attempted to give the officer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and stemmed the blood flow by applying pressure to the wounds, but the police officer was later pronounced to be among those who died.

The officer who died has been named as Keith Palmer.

The Tory MP was pictured with a bloodied face after giving first aid to the officer near the Palace of Westminster

Blood can be seen on Mr Ellwood's face
Blood can be seen on Mr Ellwood's face

He was pictured amid the dramatic scenes in New Palace Yard, where paramedics fought to save the officer's life and that of his attacker on the floor of the cobbled courtyard.

Mr Ellwood, who lost his brother in the Bali bombing, could be seen pumping the officer's chest then standing above him, his hands and face smeared with blood.

Other armed officers, some in plain clothes and wearing balaclavas, swarmed around the yard just feet from where MPs had earlier attended Prime Minister's Questions.

Tory colleague Maria Miller said Mr Ellwood "has given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to one victim".

The police officer was eventually wheeled away on a stretcher with his face covered.

Eyewitness Hugh Dickinson, a 21-year-old student from High Wycombe, posted a picture of the minister on Twitter, showing the minister bleeding, but saying "he looked to be fine".

Mr Dickinson said: "He had blood on his forehead as you can see but he wasn't bleeding profusely.

"It looked like either a smear or graze and you can see some on his cuff too if you zoom in. He looked to be fine - no obvious limp or anything."

The Bournemouth East MP is a Foreign Office minister, with the Middle East, Africa and counter terrorism listed among the areas within his brief.