The Archbishop of Canterbury has hit out at the “perverted, nihilistic, despairing” view of the terrorist who carried out the Westminster attack on Wednesday.

The Most Reverend Justin Welby contrasted it with the devotion shown by those who cared for those injured in the attack.

He told the Lords that it was through such care and duty that there was a “victory for what's right and good over what is evil, despairing and bad”.

After the Prime Minister's statement had been repeated in the Lords, the Archbishop said he had received messages of sympathy and support from faith leaders around the world and across the UK overnight.

He painted what he described “three pictures” for peers, the first being of a vehicle being driven across Westminster Bridge “by someone who had a perverted, nihilistic, despairing view of objectives of what life is about and society is about that could only be fulfilled by death and destruction”.

The second, he said, was of that “same person a few minutes later... being treated by the very people he had sought to kill”.

The third was of “these two Houses where profound, bitter and angry disagreement is dealt with not with violence, despair or cruelty but with discussion, reason and calmness”.

The Archbishop said these “pictures” pointed to deep values of doing what was right and behaving properly “where that generosity and extraordinary sense of duty leads people to treat a terrorist is shown, where that bravery of someone like Pc (Keith) Palmer is demonstrated, that there is a victory for what is right and good over what is evil, despairing and bad.

In pictures: Westminster attack Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Westminster attack In pictures: Westminster attack An air ambulance lands after gunfire sounds were heard close to the Palace of Westminster in London PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack MPs wait until the situation is under control in Westminster. 'The alleged assailant was shot by armed police,' David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, told the house. BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Crowds gather in Westminster after shooting incident, which police are treating as terror attack BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Police were also called to an incident on Westminster Bridge nearby AP In pictures: Westminster attack Early reports indicate the car, which mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and mowed into around a dozen people, was the same vehicle which then rammed into the railings of the Palace of Westminster, just around the corner Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack Security sources described the suspected assailant as a middle-aged Asian man, who is understood to have left the car before attacking a police officer with a seven-to-eight inch knife PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack Police have asked people to avoid the immediate area to allow emergency services to deal with the ongoing incident AP In pictures: Westminster attack One woman has died and a number of others, including the police officer, have been hurt, according to a junior doctor at St Thomas' Hospital Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack At least three gun shots were heard by those inside Westminster, and proceedings in the House of Commons have been suspended AP

“That was shown yesterday.

“That is shown not just in our expression of values but in our practices which define those values and that is the mood we must show in the future,” he added, to cheers of support from a packed chamber.