Tributes to PC Keith Palmer on Westminster terror attack anniversary
'Keith was a very modest man. He wouldn't like any of the fuss,' says friendA police officer has paid tribute to his friend and fellow officer who was killed in the Westminster attack.
PC Shaun Cartwright, who had been friends with PC Keith Palmer for more than 10 years, said: "Keith was a very modest man. He wouldn't like any of the fuss.
“He'd just see whatever he was doing as just performing his job and doing it to the best of his ability."
PC Palmer was killed as he stood guard at the gates of the Palace of Westminster on March 22 last year.
The pair had previously worked together on the on the Territorial Support Group and PC Cartwright was due to be on shift after PC Palmer at the gates on the day of the attack.
He told LBC: "I was getting myself changed when the alarm went off, that there'd been a terrorist attack, there'd been a large explosion in the area of Portcullis House, Westminster Bridge, so I quickly pulled on all of my kit.
"It took me 30 seconds or so, run down towards the scene once I'd picked up my radio and battery and I went down to very close to the scene... I saw roughly what had happened.
"Obviously, we were unsure what was happening, whether it was going to be like a lone wolf attack or if it was a multi, marauding attack.
“That's the thing that most people were unsure about. We didn't know whether the person was acting alone or whether he was part of a bigger team."
He told LBC that getting back to work had been "incredibly tough for an awful lot of people," especially for those that responded first of all, and that PC Palmer's family were "coping as best they can, like people do in terrible circumstances".
MPs observed a minute’s silence in the House of Commons today in “respectful memory” of those who died in the attack.
With heads bowed, MPs from different parties stood side-by-side along the green benches to pay their respects ahead of digital, culture, media and sport questions.
Five people died, including PC Keith Palmer, and dozens more were injured when 52-year-old Khalid Masood launched a car and knife attack on Westminster Bridge and the Palace of Westminster before he was shot dead.
Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said: "I'm sure the whole House will want to associate ourselves to mark the memory of those who passed away a year ago, as we have just noted in the one minute's silence, and to thank once more the emergency services who keep us safe and, especially on this day, those who put others' safety ahead of their own.
"We remember those who have lost their lives defending democracy. They will not be forgotten."
Labour's Barry Sheerman added: "While thinking of the victims of the terrorist outrage last year, I think all of us on the benches hope that the families of those people who were tragically killed have been looked after."
Sports minister Tracey Crouch said: "PC Keith Palmer was an avid Charlton Athletic fan and it was only right that the club actually respected him by turning his usual red seat in The Valley white with his number written on it, so his memory will always live on at the football club."
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