Thousands of officers line central London route of cortege for their colleague who was killed in the Westminster attack

Thousands of police officers paid tribute to the heroism of PC Keith Palmer as they lined the route to his funeral and stood heads bowed for a two-minute silence in his memory.

They joined his widow, Michelle, daughter, Amy, and about 50 members of his family to bid farewell to the 48-year-old officer, stabbed to death while on duty outside the Houses of Parliament during the 22 March Westminster terror attack.

His funeral cortege travelled from the Palace of Westminster, where the coffin had rested overnight in the chapel of St Mary Undercroft, to Southwark Cathedral.

The 2.6-mile route avoided Westminster Bridge, where Khalid Masood, a Muslim convert, brought terror, chaos and death on that day, killing four others by driving into pedestrians.

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At the police ceremonial funeral, the procession through London’s streets was headed by a Metropolitan police service colour party carrying the flag bearing the Met’s service crest.

Immediately behind a “black escort” of five Irish draught horses from the Met police mounted branch rode in front of the hearse. Four other horses brought up the rear. Each wore a saddlecloth emblazoned with the Met crest worn only on ceremonial occasions.

About 5,000 officers in dress uniform from the Met and forces around the country formed a line along the approach to Southwark Cathedral.

They dipped their heads as the cortege passed. Red and white floral tributes atop the hearse spelled out “No 1 Daddy”, “husband”, “son”, ”brother”, “uncle” and “Keith”. There was a red heart made out of roses.

Well-wishers gathered in the streets nearby as the cathedral bell tolled.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Officers from the Met police and forces around the country line the approach to Southwark Cathedral. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

On the Thames a small flotilla had formed outside the Houses of Parliament as Palmer’s coffin left. Three police boats were joined by others from the fire service, RNLI and Port of London Authority and sailed in arrow formation to Lambeth Bridge as the funeral cortege passed overhead.

At London Bridge, as the coffin arrived at Southwark Cathedral, the vessels sounded whistles in tribute. The boats had been part of the first response to the Westminster terror attack, pulling from the river the Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea, who was thrown into the Thames during the incident but died on Thursday.

A flypast of the cortege was conducted by two police helicopters. One of the aircraft dipped to perform a “bow” salute over the south door of the cathedral as Palmer’s coffin arrived.

Six pallbearers, made up of Palmer’s colleagues from Bromley borough, territorial support and diplomatic protection groups, carried his coffin into the cathedral past a guard of honour formed by his closest colleagues. His helmet and service medals were borne with his coffin.

Southwark Cathedral had been chosen as Palmer was a south Londoner and a loyal Charlton Athletic supporter who had spent most of his policing career in the area.

The home secretary, Amber Rudd, and the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, were among those attending.

Delivering the tribute Ch Insp Neil Sawyer, who worked with Palmer both in Bromley borough and the territorial support group, said on 22 March Palmer “did not waver and stood firm and made the ultimate sacrifice in doing his duty. He is a hero to us all. We are all very proud of him.”

He added: “His spirit will never leave us and he will remain an inspiration to us all. Keith’s blue lamp will shine bright forever. And on behalf of us all, we say thank you. Keith made a difference and we will not forget.”

Those gathered had come to say goodbye to “first and foremost a husband and father”, but also a “servant and defender of both our nation and city”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The cortege makes its way to Southwark Cathedral. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The dean of Southwark, the very Rev Andrew Nunn, who delivered the address, said: “Keith was doing his duty, doing what he always did, and then what happened, happened.”

He added Palmer had laid down his life for his friends.

“Keith laid down his life for each one of us here. And each one who have lined the streets and filled the bridges of this city today, who kept vigil last night, who gathered in the abbey last week, who laid flowers on Westminster Bridge and Parliament Square, who posted messages on social media, all who cried in front of their TVs, who listened in disbelief to their radios. We are those friends, known and unknown.

“He died for the politicians who represent us. He died for the democracy he was protecting. He died for the freedom we should treasure.”

The new Met police commissioner, Cressida Dick, on her first day in the post, read WH Auden’s poem Funeral Blues. At the end the Last Post was sounded by a bugler from the Honourable Artillery Company.

Speaking after the funeral, Dick said: “He was genuinely the friendly face of British policing and in this horrible, horribly sad time, I think all of us in policing hope that today’s tribute to him gives some sort of comfort to his family, who we can’t possibly imagine what they have been going through. But we’re incredibly proud of him and we know they are, too. All are hearts are with them.



“People offering kindness, support, friendship; wanting to say to their police officers how much they respect what they do. And how proud they are of what Keith did and what sort of person he was.



“In this terrible, terribly sad business, if we can take some positives forward, then that’s something.”

Before the service the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, remembered a smiling, cheerful man, always talking to visitors. “He died defending our parliament,” he said.