Fishing spokesman caught up in London terror lockdown

Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Simon Collins was among hundreds of people caught up in a Westminster lockdown following the London terror attack that left four people dead and around 20 injured.

Mr Collins was confined in the office of shadow secretary for environment, food and rural affairs Sue Hayman when The Shetland Times spoke to him this evening, though Mr Collins was kept connected with the unfolding events by TV.

In London for a series of meetings, Mr Collins said that he had been unaware of any noise or activity in the huge parliamentary complex until police came in and told people to get out of the public spaces and into offices.

At that point “a few people lost it”, said Mr Collins, but the vast majority were orderly and there was no overall panic in the building.

He said that Westminster was extremely well defended with a great many police in and around the building.

The greatest challenge for those in lockdown was the uncertainty of knowing when they would be allowed out, he added.

Co-incidentally Mr Collins was in Brussels a year ago to the day when three coordinated suicide bombings rocked the Belgian capital, leaving 32 civilians and three perpetrators dead. Again, Mr Collins said, he was virtually the last to know of the attack at the time.