Finsbury Park attack as it happened: Theresa May booed as she leaves mosque after paying respects to victims
Police: 'London is a city of many faiths and many nationalities. An attack on one community is an attack on all of us'
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One person has died and eight people have been taken to hospital after being hit by a van in a "potential terror attack" near a north London mosque.
The van driver, described by eyewitnesses as a large white man, was detained by members of the public after the attack in Seven Sisters Road at 12.20am on Monday.
One witness described being surrounded by bodies in the wake of the attack outside the Muslim Welfare House, close to Finsbury Park mosque.
Eyewitnesses said the attacker shouted about killing Muslims as he was held by local people.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said it was an attack on common values.
"Like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect," he said in a statement.
Prime Minister Theresa May said: "Police have confirmed this is being treated as a potential terrorist attack.
"I will chair an emergency meeting later this morning.
"All my thoughts are with the victims, their families and the emergency services on the scene."
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "One man was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Officers are in the process of informing next of kin. A post mortem examination will be scheduled due course.
"Eight people injured were taken to three separate hospitals; two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries."
Commenting on reports that the van driver also produced a knife, the statement went on: "At this stage there are no reports of any persons having suffered any knife injuries.
"The driver of the van - a man aged 48 - was found detained by members of public at the scene and then arrested by police in connection with the incident.
"He has been taken to hospital as a precaution and will be taken into custody once discharged.
"He will also be subject of a mental health assessment in due course."
The force said the investigation of the incident is being carried out by the Counter Terrorism Command.
Extra police will be deployed to protect communities, Ms May said.
"This is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people. It is home to multitude of communities that together make London one of the greatest cities on earth.
"Diverse, welcoming, vibrant, confident and determined never to give in to hate.
"These are the values that define this city. These are the values that define this country."
Ms May said today's attack falls at a difficult time after the recent London Bridge terror attack and the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower.
She also said the security needs of mosques need to be assessed.
Ms May said there has been far too much tolerance of extremism over many years, including Islamophobia.
She said "we will stop at nothing" to defeat extremism following the mosque attack.
The outgoing Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: "The Finsbury Park attack is senseless barbarism. Yet again we are rocked by a horrific incident for which there is no rhyme or reason.
"People who commit these heinous acts want to divide us, force us to turn in on ourselves and fight each other. We cannot and must not let them win. Our values matter, we must stand together.
"My deepest sympathies are with the victims and their families.
"I would like to pay tribute to the bravery and dedication of the emergency services, who, yet again, have gone above and beyond to help those in need.
"In these moments while others run in the opposite direction, our emergency services run towards danger."
Here is Theresa May's statement in full:
"This morning, our country woke to news of another terrorist attack on the streets of our capital city: the second this month and every bit as sickening as those which have come before.
"It was an attack that once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives – this time British Muslims as they left a Mosque having broken their fast and prayed together at this sacred time of year.
"Today we come together - as we have done before – to condemn this act and to state once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed.
"The Government’s Emergency Committee, COBRA, has just met and I can set out what we know about what happened, and the steps that we are taking to respond.
"Just after twenty-past midnight, the Metropolitan Police received reports that a van had been driven into a crowd of people on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park.
"Officers were in the immediate vicinity as the attack unfolded and responded within one minute.
"Police declared it a terrorist incident within eight minutes.
"One man was pronounced dead at the scene; eight injured were taken to three separate hospitals; while two were treated at the scene for more minor injuries.
"The driver of the van - a white man aged 48 - was bravely detained by members of the public at the scene and then arrested by police.
"The early assessment by the police is that the attacker acted alone.
"Our thoughts and prayers this morning are with the family and friends of the man who died and those who were injured.
"On behalf of the people of London – and the whole country – I want to thank the police and the emergency services once again for responding as they always do with great professionalism and courage.
"Extra police resources have already been deployed to reassure communities, and the police will continue to assess the security needs of Mosques and provide any additional resources needed, especially during this final week before Eid Al-Fitr, a particularly important time for the whole Muslim community.
"This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship. And like all terrorism, in whatever form, it shares the same fundamental goal.
"It seeks to drive us apart; and to break the precious bonds of solidarity and citizenship that we share in this country.
"We will not let this happen.
"When I stood here for the first time as Prime Minister last Summer I spoke about our precious belief in the Union – not just the bond between the four nations of the United Kingdom – but the bond between all our citizens, every one of us, whoever we are and wherever we are from.
"At the heart of that bond is a belief in the fundamental freedoms and liberties that we all cherish; the freedom of speech; the freedom to live how we choose and yes, the freedom to practice religion in peace.
"This morning we have seen a sickening attempt to destroy those freedoms; and to break those bonds of citizenship that define our United Kingdom.
"It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms; and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible.
"As I said here two weeks ago, there has been far too much tolerance of extremism in our country over many years – and that means extremism of any kind, including Islamophobia.
"That is why this Government will act to stamp out extremist and hateful ideology – both across society and on the internet, so it is denied a safe space to grow.
"It is why we will be reviewing our Counter-Terrorism strategy and ensuring that police and security services have the powers they need.
"And it is why we will establish a new Commission for Countering Extremism as a statutory body to help fight hatred and extremism in the same way as we have fought racism – because this extremism is every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life and we will stop at nothing to defeat it.
"Today’s attack falls at a difficult time in the life of this city, following on from the attack on London Bridge two weeks ago – and of course the unimaginable tragedy of Grenfell Tower last week, on which I will chair another meeting of Ministers and officials later today.
"But what we have seen throughout – whether in the heroism of the ordinary citizens who fought off the attackers at London Bridge; the unbreakable resolve of the residents in Kensington; or this morning the spirit of the community that apprehended this attacker – is that this is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people.
"It is home to a multitude of communities that together make London one of the greatest cities on earth.
"Diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate.
"These are the values that define this city.
"These are the values that define this country.
"These are the values that this government will uphold.
"These are the values that will prevail."
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