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Westminster could become a pedestrianised security zone in a bid to prevent vehicle terror attacks, London’s police chief said today.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said that vehicle attacks had become the terrorists’ “weapon of choice” in Europe and agencies and police would discuss plans to boost security measures around Parliament in the coming months.

Mayor Sadiq Khan backed a part-pedestrianisation of Parliament Square, while a senior Whitehall source said the Government would consider any “proportionate and effective” proposals backed by police and parliamentary advisers.

It came as counter terrorism detectives continue to question a 29-year-old British man of Sudanese origin in connection with the attack on Westminster yesterday.

The man, understood to be Salih Khater from Birmingham, allegedly drove a Ford Fiesta through a group of cyclists in Parliament Square before crashing into a security barrier yards from the public entrance to the House of Commons.

Three people were injured and two taken to hospital but only only one female cyclist was seriously hurt. Both have now been discharged.

Today police appealed for sightings of his car in London early yesterday, specifically in the early hours of the morning.

So far, it appears the suspect drove from his home in Birmingham late on Monday before he spent almost five hours around Tottenham Court Road.

The silver Fiesta car - registration FL10 CWZ - was then driven around the Westminster area for 90 minutes before veering off Parliament Square and smashing into a security barrier at 7.47am yesterday.

Today counter-terrorism officers were continuing to search addresses in Birmingham and Nottingham in an effort to understand the motivation for the attack.

The Met Commissioner said Westminster has become a target for attack for a variety of reasons, including terrorist, in the past 18 months and security around Parliament would be enhanced in the coming months.

Ms Dick said: “Whether that area outside should be pedestrianised further, there should be further physical works done, I think is a matter that will be discussed no doubt between parliamentary authorities, us, the intelligence agencies and indeed the local authorities and the mayor.”

She added: “Sadly the vehicle appears to, in some ways when you look across Europe and the western world, have become a weapon of choice, method of attack of choice for terrorists, and devastation can be caused by a vehicle as we’ve seen so many times.

“Terrorists want us to completely change our way of life, they want us to be afraid and they want us to stop doing what we want to do to lead a normal life in the UK.

“We are not going to give in, we are not going to just change our lifestyle, but it is important we take reasonable measures.”

Asked if the physical security around Parliament should be strengthened, including potentially pedestrianising Parliament Square, Mr Khan said: “I think it should be, I’ve been an advocate for a while now of part-pedestrianising Parliament Square, but making sure we don’t lose the wonderful thing about our democracy which is people having access to parliamentarians, people being able to lobby Parliament, visitors being able to come and visit Parliament.

Parliament Crash - In pictures 23 show all Parliament Crash - In pictures 1/23 A Man detained (circled) by Police on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Sky News 2/23 Forensic officerS attend the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Alex Lentati 3/23 Police activity on Millbank, London after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Good Morning Britain 4/23 Neil Basu Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism makes a statement paul grover 5/23 Police recover the silver Ford Fiesta involved PA 6/23 Sky News 7/23 PA 8/23 Good Morning Britain 9/23 A forensic officer attends the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 10/23 BBC News 11/23 BBC News 12/23 PA 13/23 Reuters 14/23 Sky News 15/23 PA 16/23 PA 17/23 Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 18/23 Police on Westminster Bridge, central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 19/23 Armed police stand in the street after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster REUTERS 20/23 Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 21/23 Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 22/23 Police forensics officers work at the scene outside the Houses of Parliament in central London AFP/Getty Images 23/23 Forensic officers by the car that crashed into security barriers outside Parliament PA 1/23 A Man detained (circled) by Police on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Sky News 2/23 Forensic officerS attend the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Alex Lentati 3/23 Police activity on Millbank, London after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament Good Morning Britain 4/23 Neil Basu Assistant Commissioner for Counter Terrorism makes a statement paul grover 5/23 Police recover the silver Ford Fiesta involved PA 6/23 Sky News 7/23 PA 8/23 Good Morning Britain 9/23 A forensic officer attends the scene near the Houses of Parliament, Westminster in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 10/23 BBC News 11/23 BBC News 12/23 PA 13/23 Reuters 14/23 Sky News 15/23 PA 16/23 PA 17/23 Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 18/23 Police on Westminster Bridge, central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 19/23 Armed police stand in the street after a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster REUTERS 20/23 Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 21/23 Police activity on Millbank, in central London, after a car crashed into security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament PA 22/23 Police forensics officers work at the scene outside the Houses of Parliament in central London AFP/Getty Images 23/23 Forensic officers by the car that crashed into security barriers outside Parliament PA

“So some of the things we’re keen to do, working with the Palace of Westminster, working with the council and the experts, is to part-pedestrianise that part of Parliament Square immediately outside the gates to Parliament, but at the same time making it attractive... I think there’d be all sorts of challenges with doing the whole square because it is a thoroughfare for cars, vehicles, commercial deliveries going through London.”

Khater had lived alone in a flat over the Bunna internet cafe in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham until four months ago.

Police yesterday visited the cafe and took away a computer, and other items in plastic bags.

His most recent address had been another flat in Hall Green, Birmingham but he was reportedly seen regularly at the internet cafe, including on the day before the attack.

A friend protested Khater’s innocence saying he had been visiting London to get a visa and he had simply lost control of his car.

Abrha Thomas, from Five Ways in Birmingham, added: “He was a very nice man, everybody knew him in this area. We see him around and we all pull together.

“He was a Muslim so when this accident happened they call it a terrorist attack.

“There were two ambulances behind him trying to pass and he tried to get out the way and lost control.”

Plain-clothed police officers could be seen outside an address in Peveril Street, Nottingham, last night, said by neighbours to be home to six Sudanese people.

Khater was previously an accountancy student at Coventry University. A spokesman for the university said: “Salih Khater studied accountancy at Coventry University between September 2017 and May 2018.”

According to his Facebook page, he had previously studied electrical engineering at Sudan University of Science and Technology in Khartoum.

Before that he went to school in Wad Madani, a town in east central Sudan, where his parents were sorghum farmers.

His social media profile showed he liked Celine Dion, Rihanna and Eminem, along with Sudanese music.

Friends said he had moved to the UK about five years ago, and became a citizen.

The landlord of Khater’s former flat told the Times said: “He was a nice man. I never had any problems. He paid his rent on time.”

One customer said Khater was seen in the café on Monday, adding: “He doesn’t speak to people. I think he had some problem; he lost his father and at the same time lost his brother in two months but I don’t know how recently.”

The suspect, who was refused to co-operate with officers, was not known to security services, the Met’s counter-terrorism head Neil Basu said yesterday.

However, there were reports today that Khater was known to West Midlands police.

His flat was just three miles from the home of terrorist Khalid Masood who killed five people in the 2017 Westminster Bridge atrocity.