PARLIAMENT remains defiant and our spirit cannot be broken, said North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson yesterday.

Mr Tomlinson was one of the many MPs locked in the Commons chamber for more than four hours on Wednesday as a dark cloud descended around them.

It was with a sickening and dramatic irony that he recalled events.

“I was getting ready to take part in the universal credit debate when we discovered that, for some reason, the sitting had been suspended. Nobody seemed to know why.

“Then someone saw the door had been shut and the leader of the house, David Lidington, and deputy speaker Lindsay Hoyle made statements saying there had been an ‘incident’ within Parliament and it would be suspended for the time being.

“Everyone was still very calm and we were all receiving updates on social media. Then, another statement came in to say the day’s sitting had been completely suspended and we would all have to wait in the chamber.

“Not all MPs had made it to the chamber to vote, so the whole of Parliament immediately went into lockdown. There was even a group of schoolchildren in the public gallery throughout.”

MPs remained huddled in the chamber for more than four hours before they were finally able to leave. And although Justin’s candid recollections gave us a small glimpse, it’s impossible to know what was going through their minds at the time.

Mr Tomlinson said: “At about 8pm we were released and allowed to go back to our offices. It was then that we had to walk past the main gates where it took place – and it really hit home. It was a moment I will never forget.”

Speaking about the heroic work carried out by the emergency services, a reflective Justin said: “I can’t describe how grateful we all are for the amazing response of the emergency crews.

“There is a real collective sense of loss for the police officer who died whilst doing all he could to protect us. Parliament is in a state of shock but very grateful to the efforts of everybody.”

Sentiments were echoed by South Swindon MP Robert Buckland. He told BBC Wiltshire: “The horror of having lost a police officer who is one of our own, one of the team that looks after us, brings the reality of terrorism to one’s door.

“The question we’ve got to ask ourselves is: what should our response be? Should we change our way of life? Should we shut down roads around Parliament? I think that if we respond in that way then these people win.

“But they are not going to win and they are not going to change our freedoms and the values we represent.”

North Wiltshire MP James Gray, who has previously warned of attacks by Islamists, said: “It is terrible that this has happened at the centre of Parliament. But there was always the threat that something like this might happen.”

The trio joined MPs in tribute to the emergency services in Parliament yesterday, where tributes were paid to victim PC Keith Palmer.