Westminster attacker Salih Khater charged with attempted murder over House of Commons barrier crash

The Westminster terror suspect has been charged with two counts of attempted murder by driving a car through crowds outside Parliament.

Salih Khater, 29, will appear in court facing a count of attempting to murder members of the public and one count of attempting to murder police officers, following the incident outside the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.

The Sudanese-born suspect, who is a British citizen, allegedly drove his vehicle into pedestrians and cyclists before swerving towards police officers.

He then crashed into barriers outside the Palace of Westminster and was arrested. Three people were treated for non-life threatening injuries after the incident.

The defendant is due before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday.

The incident promoted a major counter terrorism operation, with police carrying out a number of property searches and Khater detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act.

Rooftop camera footage shows his Ford Fiesta mounting a pavement on the wrong side of the road before, witnesses said, it travelled around 40 metres (130ft) and hit a bollard.

Two weeks ago, Khater received his British citizenship meaning he could travel back to Sudan safely on his British passport.

Prosecutors will be treating his case as terrorism due to the method of the alleged attack, the targets selected and the high-profile location, the Metropolitan Police said after charging him on Saturday.

Earlier this week, a friend of Khater’s told the Daily Telegraph that he was not himself as of late.

The local taxi driver, who did not wish to be identified, said: “Last time I saw him, which was about two weeks ago, he was not himself at all. ...  because of his family problems, they were causing him a lot of stress. His father and [sibling] all died within a couple of months of each other.”