Independence referendum debate halted after Westminster shooting
published at 18:11 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2017
The Scottish Parliament has suspended a debate on whether to call for an independence referendum following an attack outside the UK Parliament.
Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh said the incident in London was affecting the contributions of MSPs, and that the debate would resume at another time.
A police office and a woman have been killed near parliament in central London.
Four people are known to have died so far - including an attacker.
Scotland Yard is treating it as a terrorist incident.
MSPs had been spending a second day debating whether or not to seek permission from the UK government for a second referendum on Scottish independence to be held when news of the London attack broke.
A vote had been due to be held at 17:30, but politicians including Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson called for the session to be suspended.