EAST Hampshire MP Damian Hinds has condemned last week’s attack in Westminster, which left five people dead including the perpetrator, describing it as a “senseless act of terror”.

Mr Hinds, who was in Westminster at the time, said it was “ostensibly an attack on Parliament”.

County councillor Adam Carew, who was also in Westminster when the horror unfolded, said it was “a sad and shocking day that will indelibly be etched on my memory”.

Last weekend’s attack saw 52-year-old Briton Khalid Masood drive along the pavement of Westminster Bridge and Bridge Street, deliberately targeting pedestrians.

He injured more than 50 people, three of them fatally, before abandoning the vehicle and fatally stabbing an unarmed police officer.

After the rampage, which lasted just 82 seconds, Mr Masood was shot and killed by police.

The so-called Islamic State-associated Amaq News Agency claimed that Mr Masood was a “soldier” for the group, carrying out an attack on civilians in coalition countries.

But the Metropolitan Police said there was no evidence of a direct link to the group, though acknowledged that Mr Masood “clearly had an interest in jihad”.

Commenting on the attack, Mr Hinds said: “Last Wednesday’s senseless act of terror brought unimaginable horror to the streets of our capital. While London is sadly no stranger to terrorism, this kind of low-tech marauding attack was something new.

“It was ostensibly an attack on Parliament, but Parliament was not breached and those who were killed and horrifically injured were not parliamentarians. Those of us who were inside the building – MPs, peers, and the thousands of Westminster staff – were in lock down and, thanks to the immense bravery of the police, safe. It is others’ families who mourn.

“Those mown down on the bridge had no connection to the British state or to Parliament, other than to have been near it at the time. They were of many nationalities and, presumably, religions. The carnage was random.

“We are fortunate to live in one of the world’s most free and tolerant societies. Underpinning that is our civilian police force, drawn from and close to our communities.

“We do have armed response units, but for the most part our police do not carry deadly weapons, and that is something precious.

“So it is with our democratic institutions. They, of course, need security, but in the main our parliament is an open and accessible place. And that too is something precious.

“Pc Keith Palmer was one of the small group of very special people who stand at the line. At once the friendly welcoming face of the Palace of Westminster – giving directions and joining tourists in their memento photos – and at the same time guarding the symbol and the practice of democracy, the ‘mother of Parliaments’. He died in defence of both.”

Mr Hinds continued: “Every day in the Commons begins with prayers, the only part of Westminster proceedings that is private and away from the cameras.

“As Parliament re-convened on Thursday morning, this moment of togetherness and reflection took on an additional depth. We reflected on liberal democracy and why some would seek to attack it.

“And we reflected on the incalculable valour of those who defend it – not merely speaking in its defence as we do but also physically standing in defence of those (democratic) values.

“Doubtless there will now be much heightened security around the Palace of Westminster. But as we have seen not just in the nature of the London incident, but in France, Germany and elsewhere, you simply cannot guard against all eventualities, when you face people willing to unleash indiscriminate attacks in the public street.”

Mr Carew, who was at a conference directly opposite Parliament and Westminster Bridge and had to evacuate the building, said: “I am utterly appalled at these terror attacks and my heart goes out to the families of those who have been killed or injured. Prime Minister Theresa May is right – this attack was ‘sick and depraved’.

“Britain must never give in to terrorism.”

Hampshire County Council flew its flag at half mast last Thursday in an expression of sympathy and solidarity following the attack in Westminster.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, which holds international conferences at its farm in East Worldham, near Alton, each year, has condemned “the senseless and brutal killing and injuring of innocent people at Westminster”, with some 20 Ahmadiyya women joining others on Westminster bridge on Sunday to show solidarity with the victims.