The acting commissioner of the Metropolitan police stayed in his car as Khalid Masood stabbed an unarmed officer to death during the Westminster Bridge attack, an inquest has heard.

Sir Craig Mackey, now the deputy commissioner of Scotland Yard, told the inquest he remained in the car because he had “no protective equipment and no radio”. Mackey had been to a meeting with the then policing minister, Brandon Lewis, and was being driven out of the Palace of Westminster when the attack, which lasted 82 seconds, unfolded on 22 March last year.

Masood, 52, from Kent, drove his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing Kurt Cochran, 54, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, and Andreea Cristea, 31, before crashing into a barrier at the Palace of Westminster. He then jumped out of the vehicle and ran towards the gates of parliament, where he stabbed PC Keith Palmer. During the frenzied attack, Masood also seriously injured 29 other pedestrians.

“There was quite a lot of confusion about what was going on,” Mackey told the inquest. “Clearly the way that the male came in and the purposeful way he came, he was clearly a threat.”

Mackey said he saw Palmer fall down as Masood pursued and stabbed him. “One of the PCs, quite rightfully, said: ‘Get out, make safe, go, shut the door,’ which he did, and it was the right thing to do.

“That’s when I thought: ‘I have got to start putting everything we need in place. We have got no protective equipment, no radio, I have got two colleagues with me who are quite distressed,’ so we moved out.”

He told the inquest that though it was his “instinct” to get out of the car, he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with no equipment and was accompanied by two colleagues who were not police officers. “I think anyone who came up against that individual would have faced serious, serious injury, if not death,” he added.

The jury was shown footage of Masood, armed with two bloodied knives, pursuing officers following the attack on Palmer. Two close protection officers can be seen aiming their pistols before Masood drops to the ground. The marksman shot Masood three times.

Temporary chief inspector Paul Sheridan, an expert in training firearms officers, told the court it was “not like in films” when someone is shot. Blood might not be visible in the first seconds and the person might not even realise they’d been shot. Sheridan told the inquest that the use of lethal force against Masood was “entirely justified”.

The inquest into Masood’s death opened last Thursday. The jury were told “nobody is on trial” and there is “no question of attributing blame”. The inquest is expected to last about two weeks and will explore the events leading up to Masood’s death, including what was known to authorities prior to the attack and the care he was given by medical staff. The jury have adjourned until Wednesday when the two close protection officers will give evidence.

A separate inquest into the victims who died concluded last Wednesday, with the chief coroner, Mark Lucraft QC, stating that Palmer’s life could have been saved had armed officers been nearby. He said: “Due to shortcomings in the security system at New Palace Yard, including the supervision of those engaged in such duties, the armed officers were not aware of a requirement to remain in close proximity to the gates.

“Had they been stationed there it is possible that they may have been able to prevent PC Palmer suffering fatal injuries.”

Responding to Monday’s evidence, a Met spokesperson said: “Neither he [Mackey] nor the two civilian members of police staff he was in the car with during the time of the attack had any protective equipment with them … His initial reaction as a police officer was to get out of the vehicle. However, an operational decision was made with a police officer at the scene that the then acting commissioner should not get out and that he and the two police staff should leave New Palace Yard immediately.

“It was evident that there were officers already present with the necessary skills to neutralise the threat and to administer advanced first aid. At this stage, the full extent of the threat was still unknown.



“Mr Mackey then returned immediately to New Scotland Yard, where he carried out his responsibilities as acting commissioner; namely to lead and coordinate the strategic response across the Metropolitan police to protect London during what was an ongoing terrorist incident.”

The hearing continues.