welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is kasia madera. our top story this hour: new details of the terror attack that killed seven and injured many more here in the heart of london. eight minutes after the terror began, police shot dead the attackers. so who were they and why did they strike? world leaders express support for london. the australian prime minister calls it the cruel, new reality. # so, sally can wait, she knows it's too late...# and in manchester, the scene of the previous uk attack, a tribute concert with some of the world's biggest stars. welcome to london bridge in the heart of the british capital,

where we have a fuller picture of the attack that killed seven people and injured many others. this is an active investigation still going on and the police cordon are staying up, police say they don't know when they will come down. police now know the identity of the three men who, arriving by van, went on the rampage, first hitting people with their vehicle, then lashing out with knives in bars and restaurants. in the past few hours, so—called islamic state has claimed responsibility for this. but we do have to trick that with a lot of caution. we know the emergency services were here very quickly. —— treat. they responded within minutes

and all three attackers were shot dead. we'll have full details of the investigation and the international reaction, but we start with our home editor, mark easton, whose report does include some distressing images. sirens wail clear the area now! and a country cried, "please not again." we are hearing tonight that british armed police have attended an incident at london bridge. we don't know any more than that at this stage... atjust after 10pm last night, three men in a white van drove at speed across london bridge, determined to kill the spirit of the capital. oh, my god. there's a white van that came speeding over, probably about 50mph, it turned into the pavement, hit about three people in front of me. oh, my god. close the door. there was people just lying everywhere on the bridge, just people trying to help each other out, people bleeding, there wasjust blood everywhere. having deliberately

mown down pedestrians, the three men got out of the van, knives in their hands, murder on their minds. they ran up and started stabbing this girl, three of them, i was defenceless, i couldn't do nothing, mate. they attacked her, and then they stabbed another guy, i think, if i remember right — i was a bit shocked. they started running up the road, i started going, "everybody run, they're terrorists, they're terrorists — run, run. they're stabbing everyone." sirens wail armed police were on the scene within minutes as the three men moved towards the bars and restaurants of borough market, packed with people on a warm summer's night. they were running in all the pubs, all the bars, and they were stabbing everyone. i was going to people, "run, run!" i was throwing bottles at them, pint glasses... these four friends were settling down for a meal in a mexican restaurant when the three knifemen arrived. three men come in, one pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the girls sitting closest to the door, i think she was only 17. i kinda got a glimpse of the guy with a knife,

and then before i knew it the doors were shut and we were at the back of the restaurant. so you saw him? briefly, a glimpse. in the early hours of this morning, claudia and liam, given refuge in a stranger's flat, told me what they saw from their apartment, just above a pub the attackers had targeted on their killing spree. one young guy seemed to come out of the pub, and he was knocking on the window of the ambulance, saying, "you have to help my friend, he's been stabbed, he is in the pub..." whether he got stabbed in the pub or outside the pub, i don't know, but he said, "my friend's been stabbed, he's in the pub." there was another guy, who was probably in his 405, standing on the other side of the ambulance, knocking on the other window, saying, "i've been stabbed," and he was covered in blood, he said, "i've been stabbed five times, you have to help me." at this time, police cars were still heading up to london bridge,

apparently unaware of where the attackers were. this one police 4x4 screeched down stoney street, and then easily within five seconds, there were six gunshots, or what to us sounded like six clear gunshots. gunfire six rounds, two attackers dead. then witnesses suggest another volley of bullets as the third attacker was shot and killed, all within eight minutes of the first call to police. it was an attack notjust on individuals but on our way of life. the killers targeted people having fun, enjoying the freedoms of a diverse and liberal city. with daybreak, tales of bravery and heroism emerged from the horrors of the previous night. the prime minister addressed the nation from downing street, also paying tribute to the work of the security services. on behalf of the people of london and on behlaf of the whole country, i want to thank and pay tribute to the professionalism and bravery of the police and the emergency services, and to the courage of members of the public who defended themselves and others from the attackers. and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims,

and with their friends, families and loved ones. but mrs may was notjust reflecting a nation's shock — she promised the outrage would be met by a response. it is time to say, enough is enough. everybody needs to go about their lives as they normally would. our society should continue to function in accordance with our values. but when it comes to taking on extremism and terrorism, things need to change. london is still trying to come to terms with the awful events, to understand what happened. london bridge is falling down the song goes, but london appears determined to stand up to those who would divide it. mark easton, bbc news, london bridge. police in london say they've identified the three men who carried

out the attack. and raids on a number of homes in east london have led to 12 arrests, 11 remain in custody. ed thomas has the latest on the extensive police investigation. tonight, the focus of the police investigation, a block of flats in barking. here women were escorted from the building. this video clip was taken by those living inside. armed police surround men lying on the floor, their hands behind their backs. so far 12 people have been arrested. the bbc also understands one of the london attackers who died lived here. we're not naming him at the request of the police, but we've spoken to this man who said he knew him. he says over the past two years the attacker became more and more extreme. we spoke about a particular attack that happened. like most radicals, he had a justification for everything. for everything and anything. and that day i realised that i need to contact the authorities. he'd only speak to the bbc‘s asian network as long as we protected his identity

and changed his voice. he used to listen to a lot of musa jibril. i've heard this stuff, and it's very radical. i'm surprised some of this stuff is still on youtube and easily accessible. i phoned the anti—terrorist hotline. i spoke to the gentleman, i told him about our conversation and why i think he's been radicalised. we've put these allegations to the police. the friend believes the attacker wasn't arrested even after he was reported. i did my bit, i know a lot of people did, but the authorities didn't do their bit. this couple say they also reported the same man to police more than two years ago after he tried to befriend their children. what did you think he was doing? radicalising the kids, the message was clear. if you aren't muslim and you don't follow the religion of muslim you're basically going to hell. he said the kids needed to be saved. "saved from what?" "from this world." we still don't know if any chances

to stop these men were missed. now the focus is on a search for evidence and answers. this is now the heart of the investigation, it started with anti—terror raids just hours after the attack and now forensic teams are focused on this ground floor flat at the side of the block. this was east ham this evening, a man scrambles across a rooftop as armed officers train their guns at the windows. this investigation is still far from over. ed thomas, bbc news, barking in east london. let's get the perspective from new scotla nd let's get the perspective from new scotland yard. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the latest. they quickly identified the three suspects they shot dead which quickly allowed them to get to barking to raid the addresses in north—east london and arrest 12 people,

seven women and five men, although one of those men has since been released. whether or not that group will be charged, i am not sure. they were known associates and family members the police got to quickly and obviously wanted to question quickly. that may not ultimately lead to charges. we learned an awful lot about the new reality of police and counter—terrorism last night. officers firing off rounds to prevent further loss of life. that was an unprecedented use of force in this country. but that force has its risks. a member of the public was shot and injured, though thankfully not seriously so. three times this year, one of the three key questions is going to be whether they had a group at home, they are in the uk, or if they are guided by overseas agencies. police at this stage are not quite

sure about the answers to those questions. there is another important aspect to the policing in the days and weeks ahead, that's going to be reassurance. after three attacks in three months there is a concern among the police, security service and government that frankly members of the public are going to start to panic, start to wonder might worry whether or not the police and security services are in control of this issue and they'll wa nt to control of this issue and they'll want to reassure the public they're doing everything they can to prevent further loss of life and to reduce further loss of life and to reduce further loss of life. you can see that reassurance, armed police behind me in this area very much in lockdown. we will be back here shortly but now back to duncan. hello, i'm duncan golestani. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. facebook has said it wants to make itself a hostile environment for people who carry out acts of terror.

british prime minister, theresa may, called on technology companies to do more to tackle extremist content. twitter said it was systematically expanding the use of technology to remove such material and last year had suspended nearly 400,000 accounts. a mountain rescuer and a female climber have died in the austrian alps during an attempt to winch them into a helicopter. a male climber was seriously injured. all three plummeted into a ravine after a rope came loose. their identities haven't been revealed. malta's prime minister, joseph muscat, has declared victory in a snap parliamentary election that he called last month amid corruption allegations against his family and associates. mr muscat‘s victory came despite allegations linking his wife to an offshore company in panama which received payments from azerbaijan's ruling family, charges they deny. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: world leaders express their support and sympathy

for the people of the uk, and their outrage at what's happened. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: police in britain have identified the three men who went on the rampage at london bridge on saturday night — killing seven people and injuring dozens more. raids on a number of homes in east london have led to twelve arrests. one property is believed to be the home of one of the attackers. we are finding out a lot more about those who were injured and the victims of this attack. four police officers were among those injured in the course of the saturday attack. one was of duty and was stabbed as he struggled with one of the attackers. another was the british transport police officer who despite being an unarmed had confronted one

of the suspects. it has also been confirmed that people from france, spain, australia and new zealand are among those who were injured. the first victim has been named. she was chrissie archibald from canada who died in her fiance chrissie archibald from canada who died in herfiance ‘s arms on london bridge. my colleague has more. daniel o'neill, who's 23, is recovering in hospital, one of the many pub and restaura nt—goers attacked at random. the shock and anger is palpable from his mother. he'd just stepped outside the barfor a second, and a man ran up to him and said, "this is for my family, this is for islam," and stuck a knife straight in him. he's got a seven—inch scar going from his belly round to his back. i'm still in shock, i still can't quite believe it's happened. absolutely senseless, the attacks. and these people say they're doing it in the name of god,

which is an absolute joke. the first commandment is "thou shalt not kill." all faiths share that belief. if it wasn't religion, they'd find some other excuse. they're callous, they're barbaric. and they're absolute cowards. there are many more victims. brett freeman, a father of three, was stabbed four times, and is pictured in hospital. geoff ho, the business editor for the sunday express newspaper, was stabbed in the neck. he was filmed injured and being led away having stepped in to help a wounded bouncer. that's him all over. he will not run away from anything. that is the funny thing about him, he focuses on other people. he loves other people and if he can help, he will help. initially, the injured were taken to five different hospitals across london, including here at st thomas‘. this is a cosmopolitan city, and that's very much reflected in the nationalities of those who found themselves caught up in last night's attack. it's now known a french citizen

was killed and a canadian woman named as christine archibald. her family said she would have had no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death. new zealander, oliver dowling, according to a facebook post by his sister, has been operated on after being stabbed multiple times. australian candice hedge, who reportedly worked in a local restaurant, was having a meal with her boyfriend when she was attacked. also injured, four police officers, one from the british transport police, and three from the metropolitan police force. one of the met officers, who was off duty at the time, tackled one of the armed men, and remains in a serious condition. the emergency services have been praised for their quick response, both during the attack and in its aftermath, when so many lay injured. people obviously felt tremendous empathy sympathy for the victims, as we always do, but it was an incident that could have happened to any of us. it could not be foreseen. clearly, the patients were extremely shocked in the non—medical sense.

this 19—year—old american student found himself desperately trying to stop the flow of blood from a man hit on the head by a stray bullet. we need to stop this overwhelming rush of blood from the wound. and we needed to apply pressure to stem the blood. i used my belt as a tourniquet. were you surprised he survived? yes. i could not sleep a minute last night wondering about whether he survived and not. to know he did is a huge relief. the list of the names and faces of those injured or killed in the attack will grow longer, each one an innocent victim. sarah campbell, bbc news. with reaction from world leaders,

here is james landale. this evening in berlin a demonstration of solidarity with london on a gate which these days at least is a symbol of european unity and peace. in brussels the flags once again stood at half—mast as leaders around the world expressed in there now familiar litany of shock and sympathy. we send our heartfelt sympathy and love to the victims and their families. this attack is yet another cruel example of the new reality in which we live. other leaders used social media to express their horror and solidarity. president putin of russia spoke of the cruelty and cynicism of the attack. chancellor merkel said in the fight against terrorism, germany is resolutely at britain's side. in rome, the pope led prayers for peace that were echoed by other christian leaders. translation: may the spirit give hope to the entire world, heal the plagues of war and terrorism that even tonight

in london hit innocent civilians. it is right that when there is great evil, we feel anger but their anger must be turned on its head into a commitment to justice and not against any group of people, especially members of the islamic community. in new york, the authorities increased security across the city, particularly in areas full of pedestrians and tourists, like here in times square. donald trump called theresa may's office sending condolences, but on twitter the president used the incident to renew this demand for a travel ban on visitors from six mostly muslim countries and he also appeared to criticise the mayor of london, sadiq khan for saying there's no need to be alarmed. in fact mr khan was urging people not to be worried by the increased police presence on london's river and streets. his spokesman said

he had more important things to do than respond to mr trump's ill—informed tweet. from paris, which has seen its share of terror attacks, president macron called theresa may to say france was at britain's side and france's prime minister visited a crisis centre monitoring events in london. translation: france and the united kingdom are allies that have been subjected to a common threat, and we will be united in ourjoint response to it. france is holding its own parliamentary elections at the moment and as a result of last night's attack, security has been tightened up here in london at polling stations where french nationals living in the uk are already casting their votes. few elections it seems can escape the shadow of terrorism. james landale, bbc news, central london. as london comes to terms with what happened on it streets, manchester

has been paying tribute to the 22 victims of the suicide bombing that occurred there two weeks ago. it happened at the end of an ariana grande concert where mainly children we re grande concert where mainly children were leaving the concert. they were the targets when the explosive was decimated. the singer or promise to return to pay tribute and she did that with a whole host of international stars from the music scene. they came to dance, to sing and to remember. she was the artist they most wanted to see and the voice they'd waited to hear. # midnight shadows when finding love is a battle...#. she was joined by children from a manchester school. crowd sing: # you are my everything...#. there were tears and hugs and then ariana grande revealed that she had met the mother of one of the teenagers who died

at the arena. i had the pleasure of meeting olivia's mommy, a few days ago, and as soon as i met her i started crying and i gave her a big hug, and she said that... "stop crying because olivia would not have wanted me to cry," and then she told me that olivia would have wanted to hear the hits. many of the injured were determined to be here, defiant despite memories which are still fresh. 14 year—old natalie harrison was filmed, caught up in the panic after the explosion. today natalie and her mum came to the concert but it was not an easy decision. it's been a traumatic time and the only thing that i would say is that, for me, it is a bit too soon. because i feel that i'm onlyjust coming to terms with what has happened. so coming back today, how does it feel? it's exciting because i want to see ariana without coming home and being upset.

do you think it will help you coming back and having a good experience? yeah, it will probably help me, like, heal and stuff. security was tight and visible and everywhere. there were stories of strength and resilience. we heard the, like, bang. and i got hit, like, in my upper left thigh and i had to go to hospital and have an operation on it. i'm really excited, like, yeah, because i really enjoy concerts so it's not going to stop me. artists flew in from all over the globe to take part, many with words of support for the uk. manchester, london! we are here, we are together and we are one. ijust want to take this moment to honour the people that were lost, or that were taken. we love you so much.

to the families, we love you so much. the atmosphere here is a real mix of celebration and commemoration. plenty of tears mixed in with the cheers from this audience. it's hoped that millions of pounds have been raised to support the bereaved and injured and thatjust being at the concert has helped many of the survivors. the ceilings of strength and resilience shown at the concert in manchester really sum up how many people feel here on the streets of london where many have been paying tribute to those who lost their lives on saturday. it's going to be a wet and windy start to the new week for many of us.

we've seen rain moving across northern ireland, up into scotland. that rain should clear away and as it brightens up, we will get some heavy showers. brightening up too across northern ireland but rain setting and across northern england, especially wales and the south—west, with the wind picking up. we'll see some showery bursts of rain pushing into other eastern parts of england, especially in the afternoon. here, some semblance of warmth, but otherwise a chilly day, especially underneath all that rain. and the heaviest rain likely to be across wales and north—west england where there could be as much as 80 millimetres, during the day and on monday night. the wet weather only moving very slowly northwards and eastwards, and the winds continuing to strength in the south with gales likele as we head overnight. it remains very windy for many of us. actually, on tuesday, strong to gale force winds. the wet weather may cling on to northern england. more likely to be wet across scotland, eastern scotland. elsewhere last we showers and some sunshine. those showers are likely to be heavy and possibly thundery. this is bbc news. now election questions, a studio audience debate

on the issues of the 2017 general election with leanne wood, the leader of plaid cymru. tonight, the leader of plaid cymru leanne wood faces questions from an audience here in swansea. welcome to election questions 2017. good evening. for the second time during this campaign, the uk has been shaken by a terror attack. today politicians across the border seem united in saying this cannot stop the democratic process, so tonight, days before your vote, the leader of plaid cymru faces questions from this audience. there's a mix of supporters from the main parties and other parties so please welcome the leader of plaid cymru, leanne wood. by

by the way, you can join by the way, you canjoin in tonight's debate online. let's go to oui’ tonight's debate online. let's go to our first tonight's debate online. let's go to ourfirst question from tonight's debate online. let's go to our first question from dalejones. good evening. can ijust ask what are the three main things that can be done to help combat terrorism. cani be done to help combat terrorism. can i first say i want to place on record my condolences with everyone affected by this as well as what happened in manchester last week. it's terrible that young people on a night out are targeted in this way andi night out are targeted in this way and i understand that many people will be fearful about this happening again. it's very difficult, especially with the incident that

happened last night to see exactly how things like that can be prevented in the future. i said a number of times that we should try to tackle the root cause of this, what is it, why do we not fully understand what it is that makes someone understand what it is that makes someone commit understand what it is that makes someone commit an understand what it is that makes someone commit an act like this, they're not individual isolated incidents, there are patterns right now not just in incidents, there are patterns right now notjust in the uk but throughout europe as well so there's something going on, something making people do this and unless we understand the root cause of it and try to tackle the root cause then i fear that people will continue to be motivated to commit these acts. so we need to try and understand what it is that's motivating people, then we need to try to make sure people are trained up properly to challenge those ideologies. are used to work asa those ideologies. are used to work as a privation officer and i wouldn't know where to start

challenging someone who was quoting