London’s Khan Says Ban Cars From Parliament Square After London Terror

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said cars should be banned from parts of London in response to terror attacks, after previously claiming the city was one of the safest in the world.

Parliament square should be “part pedestrianized,” the left winger said Wednesday morning, the day after a Sudanese migrant drove at speed toward the Palace of Westminster, injuring pedestrians and cyclists.

Police are treating the incident as a terror attack. Last year, Islamist terrorist Khalid Masood used a car and knives to kill and main just yards away on Westminster Bridge and in Palace Yard. Further down river at Borough Market, eight were killed by a radical Islamist gang using the same method.

“After the incident in Westminster Bridge in last March, there have been temporary barriers put in place in many of the bridges in London,” Khan added, on ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

“And Actually, we’re doing things like designing out the possibility of a hostile vehicle smashing into pedestrians or buildings,” the Mayor explained, saying he was looking into installing permanent barriers around Parliament.

Concrete barriers spread across the UK and Europe after the spate of car and van attacks in 2016 and 2017, with vehicles used by terrorists in deadly attacks in pedestrianised areas in Germany, France, and Sweden.

In the UK barriers were installed around London parks and in many northern and midlands cities, often appearing around Christmas markets with local authorities disguising them in some cases.

London’s Pride celebrations last year were completely surrounded by a wall of concrete barriers with only authorized vehicles allowing inside the cordon because of terror attack fears. Thousands of extra police were also deployed.

Mayor Khan said that “we have got to find new ways” to fight terrorism as the perpetrators are also “evolving” their methods of attacking and “disrupt[ing] our way of life.”

However, he also said we should not adopt a “closed democracy” as it is important people can meet politicians and parliamentarians.

In June 2017, Mr Khan told reporters: “I’m reassured that we are one of the safest global cities in the world if not the safest global cities in the world.”

U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who has previously criticised Khan for being soft on terror, yesterday urged “tough” action against the “animals” responsible for the suspected attack.