NICOLA Sturgeon used a sombre session of First Minister’s Questions yesterday to send a message of support to Londoners saying Scotland “stands in solidarity” with them.

Following the terror attack in Westminster, she also sought to reassure people north of the Border, saying there had been a “substantial uplift in armed officers on duty” across major cities though underlined there was no specific threat.

Flags were at half-mast at Holyrood as Sturgeon updated MSPs and politicians across the parties adopted a consensual tone creating a different mood to the normally highly-charged atmosphere of the main political debate of the week.

Five people died and more than 40 injured on Wednesday as horror erupted in London. The attacker first drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before crashing into railings at the Palace of Westminster and then killing police officer Keith Palmer who was guarding the building. The assailant was shot dead by another officer.

Yesterday the First Minister spoke of her “shock and sadness” and sent “heartfelt condolences to those who have lost loved ones” as well as those who were hurt.

“Many of us in this chamber have friends and colleagues, indeed some of us have family members, who work within the Palace of Westminster — parliamentarians, staff and journalists,” she said.

“Yesterday was a harrowing day for all of them and they have our support and good wishes.

“Above all, we stand in solidarity with London — a vibrant, diverse, wonderful city that will never be cowed by mindless acts of violence.

“This attack stands, of course, as a stark reminder of the dangerous jobs that our emergency services do every day on our behalf.

“Yesterday, a Metropolitan Police officer went to work to protect and defend democracy, and did not return home.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of PC Keith Palmer.

“However, today we should also express our appreciation to policemen and women across the country who risk their lives every day in the line of duty.

“To the police and security staff who keep us safe here in our own parliament, we say thank you.”

While she said that “at times like these, it can be all too easy to look for someone to blame”, it was important to be clear that “acts of terrorism are not the responsibility of any one faith or section of our society”. The First Minister insisted: “The only people to blame for acts of terrorism are the individuals who plan and perpetrate them.”

She told MSPs: “Terrorists seek to undermine our values and destroy our way of life. They will not succeed. Whatever our disagreements in this chamber or any other, we stand united in our core values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Those values are strong and they will endure.”

The attack took place while MSPs were debating Sturgeon’s plans for a second independence referendum to be held at some point between autumn next year and spring 2019.

The debate has now been put on hold until Tuesday, when Holyrood is likely to vote to give the First Minister the authority to seek talks with Westminster over a Section 30 agreement, the mechanism to transfer the powers for a legally-binding ballot to take place.

Sturgeon said: “We have many disagreements, that is in the nature of democracy, we have seen that in our own Parliament over the past couple of days. But it is our ability to express those disagreements— often very passionately — that is the hallmark of our democracy.

“It is the values of democracy, of human rights, of freedom, of the rule of law, that terrorists seek to strike at.

“So, whatever our disagreements, and before too long we will return to these disagreements here and in other places, but we have had the opportunity in these past 24 hours to remind ourselves of this — that we are all united by our common humanity and it is democracy that defends our ability to have these disagreements and to express them in the way that we do.”

She added: “Terrorists, by their very nature, seek to divide. Their intention, their objective, is to lead us to turn on each other, to look to people in our own society to blame. We must not do that “No faith group and no section of society is responsible for what happened on the streets of London yesterday.

“Just as it is the best response to terrorism to go about our daily business confidently and defiantly, so too is it the right response to terrorism to unite as a society and to use that cohesion as a strength.”

On the police response in Scotland, Sturgeon said Chief Constable Phil Gormley had assured her he had the resources in place to “respond appropriately”.

Opposition leaders also expressed their “deep shock” at what had happened.

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, said: “We best strike back against terrorism by staying true to our own values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law.”

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the thoughts and prayers of her party were with those affected by the attack on Westminster.