United Kingdom: Terrorist attack, London Bridge / Borough Market, 3 June 2017: London attack: 12 arrested in Barking after van and knife attack

Three attackers killed seven people and injured 48 others in London Bridge in the evening of the 3 June 2017. The attackers were shot by armed police officers.

This was the third terrorist incident in the United Kingdom since March 2017.

Twenty two people, including children, were killed and 59 injured in a suspected suicide attack at Manchester Arena at the end of a pop concert on the 22 May 2017.

This incident followed an earlier terrorist attack in Westminster, London on the 22 March 2017.

On the 4 June 2017 United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May gave a statement in which she said: 'while the recent attacks are not connected by common networks, they are connected in one important sense. They are bound together by the single, evil ideology of Islamist extremism that preaches hatred, sows division, and promotes sectarianism. It is an ideology that claims our Western values of freedom, democracy and human rights are incompatible with the religion of Islam. It is an ideology that is a perversion of Islam and a perversion of the truth'.

The three attackers were named as Youssef Zaghba, Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane.

Theresa May said on the 6 June 2017 that she expected a review would be launched by the police and security services following the attack to see what lessons could be learned, especially in the light that some reports suggested that at least one of the attackers was known to be a security risk.

The UK Prime Minister suggested on the 6 June 2017 that human rights law might be amended in the UK to make the fight against terrorism more effective. However, the shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, said that Theresa May was misguided to focus on human rights rather than policing cuts.

A general election was due to take place in the United Kingdom on the 8 June 2017.

• Primary Source

UK: GOV.UK: Policies: Counter-terrorism https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/counter-terrorism

ESO: Key source: Terrorism in Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/terrorism-in-europe/

The Guardian: Tag: London Bridge Attacks https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/london-bridge-attack

UK: GOV.UK: Prime Minister's Office: Speech, 04.06.17: PM statement following London terror attack: 4 June 2017 https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-following-london-terror-attack-4-june-2017

Politico: Tag: London Terror Attack http://www.politico.eu/tag/london-terror-attack/

Politico, 04.06.17: Terror adds to uncertainty around UK election http://www.politico.eu/article/london-attacks-theresa-may-prepares-crackdown-on-evil-extremism/

European Commission: Statement, STATEMENT/17/1540 (04.06.17): London Attacks: Statement by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-17-1540_en.htm

EurActiv, 04.06.17: ‘Enough is enough’ May says after London attack https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/enough-is-enough-may-says-after-london-attack/

The Conversation: Tag: London Bridge Attack http://theconversation.com/uk/topics/london-bridge-attack-39289

Euro|Topics: Debates, June 2017: Terrorism a problem for May http://www.eurotopics.net/en/180331/terrorism-a-problem-for-may

Deutsche Welle, 06.06.17: [Opinion]: Helpless in the face of terrorism http://p.dw.com/p/2e9hG

The Guardian, 06.06.17: May: I’ll rip up human rights laws that impede new terror legislation https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/06/theresa-may-rip-up-human-rights-laws-impede-new-terror-legislation

The Guardian, 07.06.17: Keir Starmer: UK human rights law does not prevent capture of terrorists https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jun/07/keir-starmer-uk-human-rights-law-does-not-prevent-capture-of-terrorists

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