Tobias Ellwood, a former army officer, gave PC Keith Palmer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after running towards gunfire to help him

An MP who ran towards gunfire to try to save a police officer stabbed during the Westminster attack has urged the public to ignore government advice and “step forward” during terrorist atrocities.

Tobias Ellwood, a former army officer, told an inquest that people should not be reliant on security services to protect them. Mr Elwood, 51, gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to PC Keith Palmer, 48, who was fatally stabbed by Khalid Masood in the Palace of Westminster on March 22 last year.

The MP for Bournemouth became tearful as he recounted his role in trying to keep PC Palmer, a married father of one, alive. “Forgive me, sometimes it’s easier to do the helping than talk about it afterwards,” he told the inquest at the Old