DAVID Mundell has told how he first realised something was wrong at Westminster when he saw Theresa May being ushered away quickly from the Commons as he was due to resume a meeting with her following a vote.
The Scottish Secretary explained: “I had been in a meeting with the Prime Minister. We’d gone up to vote in the Commons and there was an issue as to whether we would stay in the Commons chamber for the next vote or stay in the meeting.
“Then the next thing I saw was the PM leaving[the chamber] very abruptly, which I thought was a signal that our meeting was to continue. But when we went to try and leave as well, there were already police officers there, who indicated that we should stay in the vicinity of the chamber.”
Mr Mundell said he was not inside the Commons chamber, so was not part of the group of MPs, who were locked down there. He was able to go back to his Commons office and saw events unfold on television.
“I am very admiring of the professionalism of the police and of our door-keeping staff because it must be really difficult to carry on when one of your own colleagues is actually been the subject of part of the attack.
“But the message today from Parliament is: we carry on. Obviously, there will have to be security reviews here; you can’t defend against every eventuality but what you can do is face down terror and evil and that’s what we have to do.”
The Secretary of State also commented on the selfless actions of his Tory colleague Tobias Ellwood, the Foreign Office Minister, who went to the aid of PC Keith Palmer, who had been stabbed by the terrorist.
“Tobias is a great guy and I have known him since 2005. If people look back to how he was involved in supporting the families, who were caught up in the Tunisia attack, and was seen as being so helpful and supportive to them.
“He is genuinely the archetypal decent bloke, who puts duty and service to others before themselves. It doesn’t surprise that’s the sort of thing he would do. But he wouldn’t be looking for plaudits or recognition for it; he would just think it was the right thing to do and he did it.”
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