Britain's counter-terrorism police chief said investigators believe a man deliberately drove a car into pedestrians before crashing into barriers outside parliament on Tuesday and the arrested suspect was not cooperating with detectives.

 

"Our priority now is to formally establish the identity of the suspect and establish his motivation if we can. He is not currently cooperating," London Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu told reporters.

 

"Given that this appears to be a deliberate act, the method, and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident."

 

"At 07:37hrs today, Tuesday 14 August, a car was in collision with barriers outside the Houses of Parliament," a Met statement read.

 

"The male driver of the car (no further details) was arrested by officers at the scene. A number of pedestrians have been injured. We await an update on their condition, however officers do not believe that anyone is in a life-threatening condition.

 

"Officers remain at the scene and cordons are in place to assist the investigation. Westminster Tube station is closed," the statement added.

 

Footage on social media showed heavily-armed police response units arriving at the scene, with the area outside the parliament building in central London sealed off.