Thursday briefing: London bloodied but unbowed

Authorities are this morning piecing together the history of the Westminster terrorist who killed four people including a policeman. He also left a trail of 40 injured when he ploughed a Hyundai 4x4 into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, then ran at parliament with a knife. The attacker was shot dead by police, but not before fatally stabbing an officer on security detail. Police say they know his identity and suspect he was motived by international terrorism.

We are continuing our rolling coverage of the aftermath, including an overnight police raid in Birmingham – police are not yet saying if it is connected. There is a lot more to take in as Britain comes to grips with the arrival on its own soil of a mode of terrorist attack previously seen in Nice and Berlin. Here is our visual guide to how it all unfolded.

Theresa May emerged from a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee to speak outside 10 Downing Street on Wednesday evening. Her voice wavered at times as she condemned the “sick and depraved attack” and praised the bravery of those who responded. The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said defeating London’s spirit was a hopeless cause for the terrorists.

World leaders, as always, responded with messages of condolence and solidarity. The hashtag #WeAreNotAfraid took off on social media with people posting messages of strength in unity.

Jason Burke, senior Guardian correspondent and expert writer on Islamist extremism, says this morning that the crude nature of the attack suggests the Isis network in Britain is limited compared with those behind attacks in Paris and Belgium.

Parliament resumes today and responses to the atrocity will figure significantly in proceedings. MPs from across politics have already been paying tribute to PC Keith Palmer, 48, the member of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command who died keeping them safe. Three more police were injured.

The story of Tobias Ellwood, a Foreign Office minister, stands out after he tried to resuscitate Palmer. Ellwood is a former soldier who on Wednesday found his life directly touched by terror for a second time – his brother Jonathan was killed in the 2002 Bali bombings.

Jonathan Freedland says that on Wednesday we saw Westminster at its best – in Ellwood, the emergency services, other parliament staff, bystanders, all racing straight into potential danger to aid the victims. After the killing of Jo Cox last year, there has been another hateful strike at British democracy – this time much nearer its heart, but still rendered a failure by the very humanity it brought out.

Putting off the pension – The state pension age may have to rise to 70 if the system is to cope, an official review warns today. The Government Actuary’s Department says people currently aged 30 or under should prepare themselves for the prospect of a longer wait for a state-backed retirement. Separately an independent report warns that raising the age of eligibility to 68 may have to be brought forward by seven years, to 2039. 

The “triple lock” that determines pension increases should also be abolished, says John Cridland, former boss of the Confederation of British Industry. He cites longer life expectancy and strain on the public finances.

Contagious stupidity – Italy has the populist Five-Star Movement (M5S) partly to thank for a surge in measles cases after it peddled myths against vaccination. More than 700 cases have been registered so far in 2017 – three times last year’s rate for the same period, and already close to the 844 reported in the whole of 2016. Inoculation rates have fallen well below World Health Organisation standards. 

Comedian turned politician Beppe Grillo’s oddball party has used discredited pseudo-science to campaign for a ban on vaccinations.

Drink the health – When it comes to fruit and veg, five a day or 10? More chocolate or less? White wine, red wine, beer or just as little as possible overall? Here’s the latest health study to upend your food and alcohol habits, at least until the next one comes out: moderate drinking may protect the heart. We’re all moderate drinkers anyway, aren’t we, or at least that’s what we told the GP, so presumably no change to habits is needed.

But in case you require specifics, up “14 units” of alcohol a week – no more, mind you – can be beneficial, according to findings in the British Medical Journal. Now be warned: a unit is not a pint of beer, or a brimming glass of wine, and barely enough to fill the average alcopop to the neck. It may, in fact, be quite a bit less than you think, as the graphic from Drinkaware shows (just for illustration – the study is not theirs). So select your tipple carefully and be sure to keep count.

Brexitland – Owen Jones has filed another dispatch: this time from Dagenham, where anger over the shortage of housing undoubtedly fuelled the leave vote. Jones writes that while migrants are accused of filling up the housing register, we should actually blame the Conservatives and their “determination to shred social housing” while letting the private rental market run wild. Frances Ryan writes that Liverpool, meanwhile, has done the hard numbers on the impact of Tory austerity: a 58% drop in central government funding, according to the council, and 55,000 households squeezed by austerity.

Lunchtime read: Inside story of the Conservative election scandal

David Cameron led the Tories to an unexpected victory in the 2015 general election. But authorities are now investigating whether it was a fair fight.

Up to 20 sitting Conservative MPs are under criminal investigation after the party sent its “BattleBus” coaches, loaded with party activists, into key constituencies, possibly breaching electoral spending laws in the process. In this Guardian Long Read, Ed Howker and Guy Basnett paint a detailed picture of the scheme’s part in a meticulously orchestrated campaign – and how prosecutors’ decision on whether to go ahead with charges is vital for the integrity of the electoral process.

Sport

Manager Gareth Southgate was encouraged by his England side’s performance despite a 1-0 defeat in Germany, during which travelling fans in Dortmund loudly jeered the German anthem and sang derogatory songs about the second world war. In Edinburgh, Scotland drew 1-1 with Canada.

In rugby union, England’s hopes of a showdown with New Zealand later this year are over after the All Blacks opted to fulfil their planned fixture with the Barbarians on 4 November instead.

The Uefa president, Aleksander Čeferin, believes European football should consider more restraints on spending, squad limits and changes to the transfer system to stop rich clubs from dominating. Lastly a tearful Jason Day has explained his withdrawal midway through a round at the WGC Match Play event in Austin was due to the ill health of his mother, who is preparing for surgery to defy a terminal lung cancer diagnosis.

Business

After Wednesday’s selloff in Asia, markets are mostly in positive territory this morning. But expect more selling on Friday if the US Congress fails to agree on healthcare reforms later today and investors conclude that Trump won’t be able to deliver on tax cuts and infrastructure spending either.

Oil prices remain a concern although they bounced back slightly today after Brent dipped below $50 for the first time since November.

On the currency market, the pound is buying $1.25 and on the continent you’ll get €1.15.

The papers

Unsurprisingly all front pages feature the Westminster attack. Some opt for the poster approach with few words, while the Guardian, FT and Telegraph include reporting.

The Times headlines with “Assault on Westminster” and has a picture of paramedics attempting to treat both the attacker and policeman Keith Palmer.

The Mirror calls it an “Attack on democracy” while the Sun dedicates the front and back pages to two pictures from the attack: the first of the attacker being treated, and the second a rather intrusive one of his victim. The headline is “Maniac who knifed Britain in the heart”.

The Telegraph’s splash headline comes from Theresa May’s words: “We will never allow evil to drive us apart”.

The i changed its front page after the first edition which had showed a man’s foot and a pool of blood. This was replaced with a photo of MP Tobias Ellwood, who attempted to resuscitate PC Palmer.

The FT has “Terror attack on parliament”. The Daily Express has “Terror rampage at Westminster” and the Mail “Day terror came to Westminster”.