UK parliament attack suspect charged with attempted murder

The man who drove his car into crowds outside the British Houses of Parliament in London has been charged with the attempted murder, Scotland Yard says.

Salih Khater and the scene of the crash. Source: AAP

A man accused of crashing his car into the security barriers surrounding Britain's Houses of Parliament was charged Saturday with attempted murder, police said.

Salih Khater, 29, a Sudanese-born British national living in Birmingham, central England, will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Monday, police said.

Moment after the car crashed. Source: AAP

He is charged with one count of attempting to murder members of the public and one of attempting to murder police officers following the incident outside London's iconic Palace of Westminster on Tuesday.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), England's state prosecutors, are treating the case as terrorism, the police said.

"The charges follow an incident in which Khater drove his car into a stationary group of members of the public then at police officers, before crashing into the barriers outside the Houses of Parliament," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"Due to the methodology, iconic location and the alleged targeting of civilians and police officers, the CPS are treating this case as terrorism."

Khater is being charged under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981.