Following the incident at Westminster,  in which a police officer has been stabbed , West Midlands MPs have been tweeting about the incident.

Lee Thomas
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

The Stoke-on-Trent North Labour MP, Ruth Smeeth, has told BBC Radio Stoke she's barricaded inside an office in parliament.

Image source, Reuters

A police officer has been stabbed in the Houses of Parliament , in what police are treating as a terrorist incident.

The attacker, who was shot by police officers, is reported to have earlier mowed down several pedestrians as he drove a car across Westminster Bridge. 

Emma Thomas
Political reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

The three Labour MPs for Stoke-on-Trent have called on the government to support the city's bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021. 

They've hosted a debate in Westminste, external r to discuss why the Potteries should be chosen over the 10 towns and cities in the running for the accolade.

The chosen place  will succeed Hull , which is the City of Culture for 2017.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has promised to give £3m to the winning city .

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Michael Fabricant, the Lichfield MP who, along with other MPs, is inside his offices at the Houses of Parliament this afternoon, has tweeted this picture of the situation, external . 

The Commons leader David Lidington has said a police officer has been stabbed at the site in central London. 

Get the latest here on the BBC website .

Image source, Michael Fabricant

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A police officer has been stabbed in the Houses of Parliament , Commons Leader David Lidington has said.

He told MPs the "alleged assailant was shot by armed police" following a "serious" incident.

Staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices.

MPs from Staffordshire and Cheshire have tweeted about the site being in "lockdown". 

The Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant said he was on his way to a vote when, external "crowds of MPs rushed towards me saying that shots have been fired and shouts of 'get back'."

Antoinette Sandbach, the MP for Eddisbury, Cheshire, said she and her staff were safe, external .

You can follow live reporting on this unfolding incident here on the BBC website.

Dominic Casciani
Home Affairs Correspondent

Two men from Stoke-on-Trent and two from Birmingham have gone on trial at the Old Bailey accused of preparing a terrorism attack involving a cleaver, a sword and a partially-made bomb. 

Police discovered one of the alleged weapons with the Arabic word for "infidel" scratched onto the blade. 

They also found a samurai-style sword, a pipe-bomb an imitation handgun and a live bullet.

Image source, Google

The jury heard that three of the defendants called themselves "The Three Musketeers". 

The two defendants from Stoke-on-Trent are from Burslem and Cobridge. 

All four men deny preparing for acts of terrorism between May and August last year. 

The trial continues and is expected to last for three months.

Matt Sandoz
Stoke City commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Stoke City's goalkeeper, Jack Butland, says he believes he's getting closer to being available for Mark Hughes' first team. 

Image source, Getty Images

Butland hasn't played competitively for 12 months after fracturing his ankle on international duty with England. 

Alex Homer
BBC Local Live

For the past few months  we've been inviting our readers to pass on questions  they wanted answering by our journalists.

Image source, Black Country Bugle

We were asked: "Why is Battlefield Terrace at Wombourne so called? Was there ever a battle there?”

Hilary Moore, Clerk to Wombourne Parish Council, told us: "I’ve attached an excerpt from the Black Country Bugle which may throw some light on the subject.  

"A number of sites have been put forward for the Battle of Tettenhall, including Wednesfield and Wombourne.  

"It is generally believed that a battle took place in Wombourne as part of the 910 AD campaign, hence the local names of Battlefield Terrace, Battlefield Hill."

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

Veterans of the D-Day landings are being offered free tours to the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) for this year's anniversary of the Normandy campaign.

Image source, Getty Images

The NMA says offer has come from the travel arm of the Royal British Legion and are being paid for through Libor fines levied by the government on banks, external . 

The charity says the tours of Staffordshire are for veterans who can't travel overseas or would prefer to pay their respects in the UK to fallen comrades.

Stoke City keeper Jack Butland, injured in England's win in Germany a year ago, hopes to play again this season.

England manager Gareth Southgate managed to take some time out from his preparations for this week's internationals to visit the Burton Albion Community Trust, external and find out about grassroots football schemes.

If you want to find out about how to get into football read our Get Inspired guide.

Chris King
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Keele University been given the go-ahead to build a new £160m halls of residence for an predicted expansion of 3,000 students , external .

Image source, Keele University

The university says the development will be built over the next four to five years and see the construction of 2,300 "affordable" rooms. 

Student numbers are expected to increase from 10,000 to 13,000 by 2020, the university say.

Staffs Live

Stoke City and Manchester United football legend Lou Macari has said he is proud to be taking part in a charity walk that backs Stoke-on-Trent’s City of Culture bid , external 2021.  

Image source, Staffs Live

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The running of Newcastle-under-Lyme's market could soon be contracted out., external

The borough council says it's not performing as well as it could be and want to bring in a private company to turn its fortunes around. 

The authority admits the move would also allow it to cut the direct cost of running the market and transfer over the "associated risks". 

A decision will be made at a cabinet meeting this evening.

A paramedic said the 18-year-old driver was "so, so lucky" to escape with just a broken wrist.

Nicola Beckford
BBC Midlands Today

This lunchtime on Midlands Today we'll have news of the UK's first factory making electric vehicles, which has opened in the region. 

And we'll reflect on Port Vale's defeat by Coventry and where this leaves both sides' hopes for League One survival. 

Those stories and more from 13:30 on BBC One.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

I've selected five of the many great photos you've sent in of Staffordshire and Cheshire for this slideshow.

You can send your own pictures of the area in on email or put them on Instagram, adding the tag #bbcstoke if you agree to share. , external

BBC North West Tonight

A consultation ends today on plans to change the funding formula for schools, which could mean big cuts to some in Cheshire. 

There was a protest in Sandbach at the weekend , as campaigners fear school budgets in the Cheshire East Council area could end up being among the lowest in the country.

Image source, Jonathan White

The national funding formula proposals would reduce spending per pupil in Cheshire East to just under £4,200, which is among the lowest in the country. 

The protest in Sandbach follows a similar  demonstration staged in Nantwich  last month.  

The government announced the  new national formula  for schools to address "inconsistent" funding levels. 

The  consultation, external  for the proposals closes today.

The Ministry of Justice says it will "carefully consider" the findings of an inquest into the death of a Stoke Heath inmate and that it has "already put in place a number of measures to better support the safety of offenders in custody".

An inquest jury found a delay in treating 52-year-old Richard Grindon following a heart attack, possibly contributed to his death.

Doctors were initially unable to use a defibrilator on him because he was handcuffed to a prison officer, and the man with the keys was at the hospital canteen getting a drink.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

A teenage van driver was "so, so lucky" to suffer relatively minor injuries despite the huge damage to his vehicle in a crash on the M6,  , external say paramedics . , external

West Midlands Ambulance Service says it happened last night on the southbound side just before junction 10a, near Essington.  

It says the van was "embedded" under the back of a lorry and it took fire crews an hour to cut away enough so the two people inside could get out. 

Paramedics say the 18-year-old driver, from Warwickshire, suffered a broken wrist and the man's eight-year-old sister, who was a passenger, wasn't hurt - the lorry driver was left shaken but wasn't injured.