London terror attack live updates: Seven killed in London Bridge and Borough Market before armed police shoot three suspects dead
Prime Minister warns Britain is in the grip of a spate of copycat terror attacks
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At least seven people were killed and dozens more injured after a van drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and several men then started stabbing passersby in what police said was a terrorist attack.
The incident began on London Bridge when a white transit-style van drove into a crowd of people "at about 50mph", according to witnesses.
Police said the van then drove to the nearby Borough Market where three men began attacking people. Three suspects were shot dead by armed police.
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Three men have been shot dead after killing seven and injuring 48 more with a van and knife attack in London.
The killings on Saturday night were the second terrorist atrocity to hit the country in as many weeks after 22 were killed at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.
Attackers brought carnage to the streets of the capital, stabbing a police officer and revellers with 12-inch knives, reportedly shouting "this is for Allah".
The trio were pictured wearing what appeared to be explosive vests, with Scotland Yard later confirming they were hoaxes.
Armed police rushed to the scene and shot dead the three male attackers in the Borough Market area near the bridge, as authorities urged Londoners on Twitter to "run, hide, tell" if they were caught up in the violence.
The attacks came just five days ahead of a national parliamentary election on Thursday. The ruling Conservative Party suspended national campaigning on Sunday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said.
"Following updates from police and security officials, I can confirm that the terrible incident in London is being treated as a potential act of terrorism," Ms May said in a statement as events unfolded.
The killings also occurred less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a pop concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in northern England.
The BBC showed a photograph of two possible attackers shot by police, one of whom had canisters strapped to his body. Hours after the attack the area remained sealed off and patrolled by armed police and counter-terrorism officers.
The London Ambulance Service said 48 people had been taken to five hospitals across the city and a number of others had been treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Streets around London Bridge and Borough Market, an area that is a major transport hub and is packed with bars and restaurants, was busy with people on a night out.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan spoke of a "cowardly attack on innocent Londoners and visitors to our city enjoying their Saturday night".
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has condemned the "terrorist attacks" in London and expressed sympathy for the families of the victims.
State TV is reporting that Bahram Ghasemi said an increasing number of extremist attacks is "an alarming signal for the global community."
He condemned terrorism in "all shapes and aspects regardless of purpose and motive."
Spain's Foreign Ministry said one Spaniard is among the dozens wounded in the attacks.
A ministry spokesperson told The Associated Press the Spanish man has been taken to a hospital where he is being treated for wounds described as not serious. The spokesperson spoke anonymously in line with ministry policy.
Spain's King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy have expressed their condolences for the victims of the attacks.
The Spanish Royal Family wrote on Twitter: "The British people will overcome this barbarism and senselessness. We are united today in pain and in our tireless defense of freedom."
Five people are reportedly being held by police after a raid at flats in Barking.
Footage broadcast by Sky News showed an ambulance outside the Kings Road flats.
Tara Milan told The Daily Telegraph four men were detained in the flats but one man tried to escape armed police.
She said: "I saw them bringing them out of the flat opposite, around 7am.
“One man tried to flee and they shot him outside my house. They put him in an ambulance and then the others in a police van."
The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has said it was the right decision to suspend campaigning after the attack but insisted the election should go ahead as planned.
She told ITV's Peston on Sunday: "They are out to attack our values, our way of life, our democracy, our freedoms and it would be wrong to knock any of those in this period now and I think everybody I speak to is absolutely clear, they want the election to go ahead on Thursday."
Ms Rudd renewed calls for internet giants to tackle extremist material online and limit end-to-end encryption in the wake of the attack.
However she also pledged to "take the politics out of security" in the final days of the campaign, adding: "We will be very plain vanilla about making sure there is no political point-scoring as we go about trying to keep people safe."
Labour's Yvette Cooper, who chaired the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee in the last Parliament, told Pienaar's Politics on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Terrorists want not just to divide us - and we must not let that happen - but to cow us and instil fear.
"There is a huge determination across the whole country, particularly in London and Manchester, to ensure that the terrorists don't win in disrupting our way of life and disrupting the things we do.
"When it comes to the election you cannot allow three vile terrorists to jeopardise the democratic rights of tens of millions of British people across the country.
"That is why it is important the election should go ahead and we should be proud of and celebrate our democracy ... and do not allow terrorists to twist the debate about the election as well."
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith told the programme there should be no question of the election being postponed: "Just imagine what a coup that would be for the terrorists, if they disrupted this nation from going about its lawful democratic business.
"We have faced wars, we have faced attacks and we have to determine our own direction and we have to defend our core values."
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