A man has been killed in a machete attack and two suspects shot by police in Woolwich, south-east London.

Prime Minister David Cameron said there were “strong indications that it is a terrorist incident” and the UK would “never buckle” in the face of such attacks.

Footage has emerged showing a man wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and making political statements.

There are unconfirmed reports that the dead man was a soldier.

Both French President Francois Hollande and MP Nick Raynsford said the dead man had been a soldier at Woolwich barracks.

The footage shown on the ITV website shows a man, speaking to the camera, saying: “We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

He added: “I apologise that women have had to witness this today, but in our land our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government, they don’t care about you.”

• Downing Street said Mr Cameron, who had been planning to stay in Paris overnight after meeting the French president, would be returning to the UK later on Wednesday
• At a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee, Cobra, it was decided to tighten security at Woolwich and other barracks in London
• Both shot men were taken to hospital, one by air ambulance
• One of the men is in a serious condition, the other is also being treated for injuries
• In a joint press conference, Mr Hollande said he wanted to express his solidarity with the UK after the “murder of a British soldier”, but Mr Cameron did not confirm the victim had been a serviceman
• The Ministry of Defence said it was urgently looking into reports the incident had involved a soldier
• Another Cobra meeting will be held on Thursday morning, chaired by Mr Cameron

Home Secretary Theresa May said she had been briefed by the director general of Security Service MI5, Andrew Parker, and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe on the “sickening and barbaric” attack.

Mr Cameron said Britain had faced “these sort of attacks”, adding: “We will never buckle in the face of them.

“People across Britain, people in every community, I believe, will utterly condemn this attack.”

He expressed sympathy for the victim and his family, saying: “It is the most appalling crime. We are obviously seeking, and the police are urgently seeking, the full facts about this case.”

One witness, identified only as James, said two men had attacked another man, aged about 20, who was wearing a T-shirt of military charity Help for Heroes.

“These two guys were crazed. They were just animals. They dragged him from the pavement and dumped his body in the middle of the road and left his body there,” he told LBC radio.

He said after the “horrendous” attack, the two men, who were also in their 20s, stood around, waving knives and a gun, and asked people to take pictures of them “as if they wanted to be on TV or something”.

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AnalysisDominic CascianiHome affairs correspondent

The case for this being a jihadist attack, following the ideology of al-Qaeda, is compelling – even if the police won’t yet say so officially.

If it is, then it would be the first such incident leading to a death of someone other than the perpetrator since the 2005 London suicide bombings.

So the first task for ministers and officials is to assess the threat to the public – are other attacks planned?

The official terrorism threat level is currently “substantial”, which means an attack is “a strong possibility”.

If officials raise the level to “severe”, that would mean they fear another attack is highly likely.

If the victim is indeed a soldier, then that will be no surprise to security chiefs.

Jihadists believe they are at war with the military because of its role in the Afghanistan conflict and elsewhere.

The UK has previously uncovered three plots linked to possible terror attacks on the armed forces, including a cell in 2007 which planned to kidnap and behead a soldier in an Iraq-style hostage video.

• Read more from Dominic

“They were oblivious to anything, they were more worried about having their photo taken, running up and down the road,” he said.

Witness Graham Wilders told the BBC he had arrived on the scene to find a car crashed into a wall and a man on the ground.

“Two people were lying over him and I thought they were trying to resuscitate him,” he said.

But Mr Wilders said he had driven on to park his car, and when he had returned another witness had told him the two men had been stabbing the man on the ground.

Thomas, another witness who contacted the BBC, said: “I got there minutes after it happened because you could hear gunshots from Woolwich High Street.

“Basically two men carried out an axe attack on a young army cadet walking along the street, by the looks of things the police responded and then shot them in front of the public, at the same time I couldn’t really tell if the cadet was fatally or not hurt as police were crowded around him.”

According to senior Whitehall sources the people carrying out the attack were heard to say: “Allahu Akbar [God is Great]“, BBC political editor Nick Robinson reported.

On Twitter, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the attack as a “sickening deluded and unforgivable act of violence”.

Buckingham Palace says the Queen is concerned at the news of the attack and is being kept informed.

Help for Heroes said the charity was “appalled to hear that a man, believed to be a serving soldier, has been brutally murdered in Woolwich today”.

School lock-down

Mr Raynsford, the Woolwich and Greenwich MP, said he had spoken to local police and understood a number of weapons had been seized at the scene including a gun, knives, and a machete.

Metropolitan Police Commander Simon Letchford said two alleged attackers had been shot by officers.

He said: “Police were called to reports of an assault… where one man was being assaulted by two other men. A number of weapons were reportedly being used in the attack, and this included reports of a firearm.

“Officers including local Greenwich officers arrived at the scene, and shortly after firearms officers arrived on the scene.

“On their arrival at the scene they found a man, who was later pronounced dead.

“Two men, who we believe from early reports to have been carrying weapons, were shot by police. They have both been taken to separate London hospitals. They are receiving treatment for their injuries.

“I can understand that this incident will cause community concerns and I would like to reiterate that we are investigating the circumstances.”

Meanwhile, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) confirmed it had been informed.

David Dixon, a local head teacher, told the BBC News Channel he walked out of the school gates and saw a body lying in the road a short distance away.

He then heard gunshots and instructed staff to lock all the gates of his school.

The air ambulance landed in the playground and most of the children have now gone home, he said.

Conservative critics had tabled a proposal to let heterosexual couples enter into civil partnerships, if gay couples were allowed to get married.

This was defeated by 375 votes to 70 after a five-hour Commons debate.

Instead, MPs backed a Labour plan to consult on changing civil partnerships – a move criticised by some Tory MPs.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Culture Secretary Maria Miller thanked other parties for their “unwavering support” for the principles of the same-sex Marriage Bill and said a review of civil partnerships could take place “very swiftly”.

‘Grubby deal’

Labour said the review could potentially take place within the next few months – enabling its findings to be reflected in the final legislation – but one Conservative MP described the sequence of events as a “grubby deal”.

The bill is being debated over two days, with its third reading – the final hurdle in the Commons – on Tuesday. If approved, it will go to the House of Lords on Wednesday, where it is expected to face further opposition.

David Cameron has said equal marriage would help build a stronger and fairer society but nearly half of all Tories voted against it in February and many party activists remain deeply opposed to it in principle.

The bill’s fresh scrutiny by MPs comes amid other divisions within the Conservative Party on Europe and attitudes towards the party’s grassroots.

MPs get a free vote on the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill because it is considered an issue of conscience and many Conservative MPs spoke out against the principle of gay marriage.

Former defence minister Sir Gerald Howarth said the plans were “divisive” and suggested there were are plenty of people “in the aggressive homosexual community who see this as but a stepping stone to something even further”.

A group of Tory MPs, led by former Conservative minister Tim Loughton, attempted to amend the bill, with a plan to extend civil partnerships – which came into force in 2005 – to heterosexual couples.

Review

Mr Loughton rejected claims the move was a “wrecking” measure, arguing that the extension of civil partnerships to co-habiting heterosexuals would address a “glaring inequality” in the current proposals as well as encouraging family stability.

He warned about any review on civil partnerships being “kicked into the long grass”, adding that Parliament “was in danger of being party to a last minute stitch-up between the frontbenches”.

Ministers initially agreed that the status of civil partnerships should be reconsidered by 2019, with the scope to do it sooner if approved by Parliament.

‘Financial implications’

Ms Miller told MPs there were “fundamental policy” issues that needed to be considered with “financial implications”, such as pension entitlements for heterosexual civil partners, widows and widowers.

But while it would not be “responsible” to legislate at the moment, she said she respected the strong views on the matter in Parliament and would back calls for an immediate review.

It was initially suggested Labour’s equalities team might support Mr Loughton’s amendment but it later put forward its own compromise proposal for an immediate consultation.

“We are certainly anxious to do all we can to ensure that same-sex marriages arrives as swiftly as possible on the statute book,” shadow equalities minister Kate Green said.

“We would not want to see anything put that ambition in jeopardy.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it was his party’s position to extend civil partnerships to everybody, irrespective of their sexuality but the current bill could not be derailed.

‘Crisis of conservatism’

Without holding a formal vote, MPs approved plans to hold an immediate review after the leadership of all three parties backed it.

While failing in their attempts to amend the legislation in any form, Conservative MPs voiced their concerns in large numbers on a range of issues.

A proposal which would have allowed civil registrars to opt out of presiding over gay marriages on grounds of conscience was backed by 150 MPs – including Cabinet ministers Iain Duncan Smith and Owen Paterson – although 340 voted against.

In a subsequent vote, 148 MPs supported an amendment to protect the religious beliefs of a person who believes that marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman but 349 MPs voted against.

Under the bill, the Church of England and the Church in Wales would be banned from offering same-sex marriages because of their strongly stated opposition, unless they changed canon law.

Other religious organisations would be able to “opt in” to holding ceremonies. There are currently no plans for similar legislation in Northern Ireland, but there are already plans for a bill to allow same-sex marriage in Scotland.

The UK debate comes the week after France became the ninth European country, and 14th in the world, legalise gay marriage. Earlier this month Rhode Island became the 10th US state to allow same-sex marriages.

Colin Coats and Philip Wade, both 42, denied killing the 27-year-old financial adviser, who was last seen in Glasgow in April 2011. Her body has never been found.

They were convicted following a 13-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

Co-accused David Parker and Paul Smith admitted assaulting Ms Spence and holding her against her will.

Taped to chair

Parker, 38, and Smith, 47, pleaded guilty to assaulting Ms Spence her by hitting her with a golf club, burning her hand, cutting off her thumb and failing to get medical help.

They were also originally charged with Ms Spence’s murder but were cleared after pleading guilty to the reduced charge.

Ms Spence was last seen at her parents’ home on 13 April 2011

The court heard how friends Coats and Wade abducted Ms Spence on 14 April 2011 and taped her to a chair in an attic at a flat in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire.

The court was told that Ms Spence was held at the flat for a fortnight as Coats and Wade tried to force her to reveal details of financial deals.

The trial heard evidence that Ms Spence was involved in deals with faked Danish bearer bonds and a land sale at Stansted Airport.

The prosecution claimed that Coats had provided short-term loans to Ms Spence and held her responsible for losing his money and duping him over deals.

When it became clear that she was continuing to mislead them, Coats and Wade murdered her and disposed of her body, the court was told.

Parker and Smith claimed they were offered money to guard Ms Spence at the flat.

Unpaid debt

Giving evidence at the trial, Coats said Ms Spence arranged to stay in the Meadowfoot Road flat herself.

The accused said she wanted to lie low because of threats from former business associates over an unpaid debt and disappeared from the property one day when Smith and Parker were not there.

A spot of blood identified as Ms Spence’s found on the linoleum floor at the foot of the bath.

However, Coats’ lawyer suggested that this could have been consistent with her ordinary use of the bathroom.

The defence said the Crown failed to prove that Ms Spence was even dead, leading evidence from witnesses who claimed to have seen her after she was allegedly killed.

But the jury did not believe these claims and convicted Coats and Wade of abducting, assaulting, robbing and murdering Ms Spence, and a second charge of clearing up after the alleged crime in an attempt to defeat the ends of justice.

Grampian Police said a Vauxhall Astra was stolen from the Mastrick area of the city on Saturday.

It was later found on fire in the car park of Asda, in Muirend Road in the Portlethen area.

A force spokesperson said two men, aged 23 and 47 from the Aberdeen area, were due to appear at the city’s sheriff court on Monday.

Do you have pictures – still or moving – of the scene of this incident? Send them to the BBC Scotland news website at newsonlinescotland@bbc.co.uk

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