Two former colleagues of PC Keith Palmer have said they knew the Palace of Westminster was vulnerable to a terror attack before he was murdered.
Khalid Masood, 52, fatally stabbed the unarmed officer after driving into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge on March 22, 2017.
The Mirror revealed in April that the Met was facing legal action over his death after a coroner found it could have been prevented.
Retired officer PC Ian Grant has claimed he was threatened by a senior officer if he didn’t apologise for speaking out about security concerns.
He said: “We knew [a tragedy] was going to happen and the exact location where it would happen. The Carriage Gates were the weakest point. It was just a question of when.”
PC Sam Kelly, not his real name, who was on duty at the time of the attack, said: “All the indicators suggested a terror attack on Parliament was coming.
“If you are facing a violent threat, the best thing to do is increase the strength of your defences and make sure everyone can see that, as a deterrent effect. What was hap-pening at Westminster was the opposite. The police presence was made to lower its profile; it had also been physically reduced.”
An inquest in October 2018 concluded PC Palmer’s death may have been prevented had armed officers been nearby.
His widow Michelle’s lawyer told the inquest he was equipped with just “a spray and a baton” to protect himself on the day he was killed.
Father-of-one PC Palmer, 48, was one of five people killed during the attack, which lasted 82 seconds.
Kurt Cochran, 54, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, and Andreea Cristea, 31, were also killed.
Kent-born Masood was shot dead by armed officers during the attack.
