I am deeply saddened and angered that our city has again been targeted by terrorism. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must now inform you that, as well as the suspect who was shot dead by police, two of those injured in this attack in the London Bridge area have tragically lost their lives.
My heart goes out to their loved-ones and to the three further injured victims, who I understand are being treated in hospital, and of course to everybody who has been affected by today’s terrible and mindless events.
The attack started at Fishmonger’s Hall in the City of London. My understanding is that police were called at 1.58pm and City of London police officers had bravely and professionally confronted the suspect by 2.03pm; just five minutes later.
If you are concerned about anyone who was there today please try to contact them and if you cannot, then get in touch with us.
I want to thank all the emergency service personnel who are currently working tirelessly to deal with this incident, particularly the police officers from the Met and the City who have worked so closely together to protect the public.
I also want to thank the members of the public who have helped, either by showing extraordinary courage by stepping in or by following the instructions they’ve been given by officers at the scene and in the area. This support from our public assists us more than you could know.
In the coming days, you will see more police – both armed and unarmed – patrolling our streets to help reassure those who are understandably concerned. Similarly, our counter-terrorism detectives will be working round the clock to identify those who have lost their lives, to support all the victims and their families. We are also working at full-tilt to understand exactly what has happened and whether anyone else was involved. For this reason we expect cordons to remain in place around the London Bridge area for some time.
This afternoon, I met with the prime minister and the home secretary, and also had a meeting with the mayor. I’m very grateful for all their support. Indeed, we have been working closely with the government at every level and just as closely with our partners across London. This will obviously continue in the coming days.
This joint effort mustn’t stop with the authorities, though. As you know, we are treating this as a terrorist incident. Fighting terrorism takes effort and determination from all of us. If you have any information or concerns, please do contact us.
The empty ideology of terror offers nothing but hatred and today I urge everyone to reject that. Ours is a great city because we embrace each other’s differences. We must emerge stronger still from this tragedy. In doing that we will ensure that the few who seek to divide us will never, ever succeed.
