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Television schedules changed to bring Westminster attack coverage to air

Television schedules changed to bring Westminster attack coverage to air

ITV and BBC amend schedules to bring news specials following the ‘terror attack’ in London earlier today.

The BBC and ITV have across the day amended their output in order to broadcast news coverage of the unfolding events in the capital this afternoon. ITV have also restored News at Ten in an hour-long format to reflect on days events in the city.

BBC One cut into its schedules first to bring a special news report with coverage switching to the BBC News Channel, fronted by Simon McCoy, shortly before 3.30pm. BBC One programming, including Flog It! and Pointless, switched over to BBC Two. ITV News went to air with a news flash, later taking Tipping Point out of the schedules along with The Chase in order to broadcast a two hour ITV News special of the ongoing situation. Regional news programming on both BBC One and ITV were cut to fifteen minutes in the evening schedules to allow for the extended London reporting; however the commercial broadcaster had already scheduled shorter local news due to airing football on the network, the sport programming aired unaffected.

Channel 4 aired short updates and then carried on as usual with its 7pm evening news, however the Channel 4+1 repeat of Channel 4 News was pulled following the programme misidentifying the attacker. Channel 5 stuck to its prearranged schedule, providing coverage only in its late afternoon and evening half hour programmes.

The BBC News Channel was also broadcast in the afternoon on BBC One

City television station London Live failed to react to the breaking news, instead remained on air with a Gok Wan repeat during the major part of the incident, which left viewers pondering on social media what the ‘regional’ services are for? The whole point of local television surely is to bring urgent news, information and updates to those nearest the affected area the most. London Live finally managed to get news on air at 5pm, nearly two hours after Sky and the BBC.

Sky News interrupted coverage of the second Scottish referendum debate in order to bring live pictures from Westminster and the Thames as details unfolded. Jayne Secker and Colin Brazier remained on air longer than usual as Kay Burley headed into the city to transmit a special programme live from the scene. Evening schedules on the beeb were also effected with the programme 100 Days dropped from the news channel for further analysis and coverage. BBC Four at 7pm also tuned to the news output while BBC One restored its schedule to broadcast The One Show, however the magazine show went live fifteen minutes later than usual at 7.15pm.

UKTV pulled its political satire programme Unspun, noting it was inappropriate to air the topical series following the attack, and late evening programming was amended over on ITV as they ditched The Nightly Show. The entertainment and chat format has been airing in ITN’s News at Ten slot; seeing the news broadcast shunted to 10.30pm. However tonight the broadcaster restored their famous bulletin for an hour-long special edition reflecting on the tragic events.

Sky News were fast to bring coverage to screens

The situation in London began to unfold at around 2.40pm as The Mirror report ‘a policeman was stabbed, the knifeman was shot and multiple pedestrians were mown down by a car in a suspected terrorist atrocity.’ The Metropolitan Police have since confirmed five people have so far died in total, including the knife attacker and the policeman who has been named as PC Keith Palmer. 48-year-old Mr Palmer has been described as a loving husband and father and a long-serving officer with the Met.

Mr Palmer was attacked following a car, containing the suspect, crashing into a fence outside parliament. This event took place just moments after a vehicle had struck pedestrians on Westminster Bridge. Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood was pictured among medics desperately trying to save the officer outside the Houses of Parliament.

Around forty innocent bystanders are reported injured, one of which, a female, was pulled from the Thames after either jumping, or falling, from the bridge following the car incident on the link across the river. The Guardian reports that ‘Several victims are believed to be visiting French students.’ The newspaper goes on to state, ‘a man in black is said to jump out of the car and rush through the gates into New Palace Yard, where he attacked two yellow-jacketed male police officers at the security gates.’

They also observe that by 3.45pm ‘The prime minister, Theresa May, [was] rushed away from parliament by armed police and taken to Downing Street for safety.’ The Express note tonight that flags at Downing Street have been lowered in respect of the dead while the paper adds The Queen has postponed a planned visit to Scotland Yard’s new headquarters tomorrow in the wake of the London terror attack.

ITV News went to air replacing afternoon game shows Tipping Point and The Chase

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