Parliament was always a target and PC Keith Palmer should have been armed. Politicians probably nixed the idea because it would have looked bad to tourists and the public. The present Commissioner Cressida Dick said it happened so fast Palmer wouldn't have had time to draw a weapon, debatable. Someone ran to find an armed officer who then killed Masood the terrorist.
A separate inquest into the victims who died concluded last Wednesday, with the chief coroner, Mark Lucraft QC, stating that Palmer’s life could have been saved had armed officers been nearby. He said: “Due to shortcomings in the security system at New Palace Yard, including the supervision of those engaged in such duties, the armed officers were not aware of a requirement to remain in close proximity to the gates. “Had they been stationed there it is possible that they may have been able to prevent PC Palmer suffering fatal injuries.”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... inside-car
Slow news day on Australian TV. Mackey is also retiring this year.
http://news.met.police.uk/news/mets-dep ... ice-313841"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan
