this is bbc news, the headlines at 7pm: a man shot dead by police on london bridge. several people stabbed and it's just two members of the public have died. police have coated a terrorist incident. the male suspect was wearing a hoax explosive device on his part members of the public wrestled with the man, carrying a knife, and pulled him to the ground. a male suspect was shot by members of the police and i can confirm the suspect died at the scene at. officers were called to reports of a stabbing just before to this afternoon. the prime minister has praised the public‘s response. this afternoon. the prime minister has praised the public's responselj also has praised the public's response.” also want to pay tribute to the

extraordinary bravery of those members of the public who physically intervened to protect the lives of others. for me, they represent the very best of our country. i'm reporting live from the police court and close to london bridge and the scene of the attack. this area is still very much in lockdown tonight, roads are sealed off, causing rush hour chaos for commuters. this is the scene live where police have sealed off the surrounding area, we will bring you developments through the evening. good evening and welcome to bbc news and also to our viewers on abc

world. the bbc has been told that two people have died in an attack earlier this afternoon on london bridge at. police have declared it a terrorist incident. a man believed to be the attacker also died after being shot by police. more people are seriously injured in the attack, though it's not yet been revealed exactly how many. the attack itself happened just after 2pm this afternoon. police say they were called to an incident at a premises near london bridge amid reports of a stabbing. shortly afterwards, eyewitnesses film to members of the public as they cornered a knife on the north side of the bridge. and then pinned him to the ground. armed police arrived within minutes and shot him. he had it up which turned out to be fake, it was strapped to his body. the man died at the scene. tonight, the passers by who stepped

in have been praised for their bravery and there are heroism. my colleague is live at the scene for us. we're as one of the police court and is close to london bridge, where the attack happened. at 1:58pm this afternoon. for several hours afterwards, the area very much in lockdown, buildings are being evacuated and london bridge is closed off. all the buses and coaches are there at the time of the attack parked up, completely empty. police are carrying out a huge investigation in the area at the moment. roads around the area have been sealed off, causing a lot of rush hour chaos, commuters have been trying to get down this lane behind me to canning street station and other stations, because london bridge itself, sealed off. there are no trains running there at all. the

mayor of london sadiq khan praised the breathtaking bravery of passers by who overwhelmed the assailant. and also people here, very calm, in fa ct, and also people here, very calm, in fact, after this attack, just the latest attack in london ema wrote there was the london bridge attack two years ago injune 2017 when eight members of the public were killed. people reacting climatically this evening, even drinking in some of the bars close to london bridge and saying that they wouldn't be a coward or divided by terrorism, and thatis coward or divided by terrorism, and that is the message which you're heard from the prime minister this evening. this report is from caroline davies and it does contain some distressing images. it was a crisp winter afternoon in the city of london, just before tbm. when suddenly, there was panic.

passengers on a bus or armed officers pointing their weapons. then an officer goes forward. there was a struggle, from which one man broke free, carrying a knife and telling people to leave. another man is pulled away from the melee and the police opened fire at. the next thing i knew, there were two loud pops. when he was lying on the floor, after they pops, he pulled his jacket back and you could see underneath that there was some sort of fest, whether a stab vest or an explosive vest, and at that point, the police officer really backed away. i was really scared at this point, because were about as close as the police officers and our bus, s0 as the police officers and our bus, so that was scary. it was very

difficult, because once you see everyone rushing and scattering, you fear for your safety, i think the message was to get out and get down and everyone was anxious. out of the way, keep going! official say two members of the public as well as the suspect have died. this is mad. due to reports that the suspect may have had an explosive device, specialist office rs had an explosive device, specialist officers also attended the scene and cordons are in place to ensure there is no further danger to the public. however, i can confirm at this time, we believe a device that was strapped to the body of the suspect isa strapped to the body of the suspect is a hoax explosive device. the london ambulance service to coated a major incident called the mayor of london praised the courage of the public who tackle the suspect. they

really are the best of us, another example of the bravery and heroism of ordinary londoners, running towards danger, risking their personal safety to try and save others. i want to say thank you to behalf of all londoners and also because it shows the best of us. within minutes, armed officers were arriving from every corner of london, as well as specialist teams with dogs. city, sealed off. it's 2.5 years since the horrors of the london bridge attack. 3.5 weeks ago, the threat level was lowered from severe to substantial your meadow but this afternoon, this city was reliving the horrors of that summer night. we've see the various bits of footage and video of the attack and of the members of the public overwhelmingly assailant you may rope they've appeared on social media, and we can talk now to lloyd griffiths, who found this video from

a boss that he was travelling on at the time of the attack. and lloyd griffiths joins us now. the time of the attack. and lloyd griffithsjoins us now. talk the time of the attack. and lloyd griffiths joins us now. talk us through where you were and what you saw. i was heading north on london bridge, probably about 80% of the way across the river. it was kind of like an altercation, what looked like an altercation, what looked like an altercation, that's what initially made me want to film the event, it was very peculiar. from that moment, that's when i realised there was a knife involved, a large knife, i realise how quickly this was becoming serious. what was a reaction of people on the bus and what happened at these events unfolded? most of us try to stay

calm. no—one really knew what was happening, it was a very fast situation that happened. 0bviously, once we saw the person was shot by police, we knew this was an extreme situation and at that point, we went to the back of the bus, as far as a kid, because the doors were locked. after 30 seconds or so, police came across shouting and telling us to get off the bus and run, and that is what everybody did. and what was the mood of people, was there a mood of calm or panicking, screaming, what was the general reaction?” calm or panicking, screaming, what was the general reaction? i think in that situation, it's hard to know what's going on yourself. i think everybody was listening to the police advice just to run and leave.

0bviously, people listen to advice on running away from the bridge, and people were asking the people who are running as well, what's going on? the message had not infiltrated further down, south of the river. so there was a running process away from the scene at. and what was going through your mind is all of this unfolded ? going through your mind is all of this unfolded? i think, going through your mind is all of this unfolded? ithink, once i realised that the person had been shot, and then the police came up, telling us to run away, i made the assumption there was some kind of threat that was immediately impacting us right now, so adjusted that this was a serious situation andi that this was a serious situation and i think everybody else on bus did. there wasn't panic, but there was a clear indication that everybody wanted to get off the bus as quickly as possible. lloyd

griffiths, thank you very much for joining us, lloyd griffiths, who found some that from the bus you made it earlier on in the reports, you saw some of the heads of the uk to counter terrorism at for the metropolitan police called let's hear a little bit more of that statement to get this afternoon, in which you get the latest details that the police have. i can confirm that the police have. i can confirm that approximately 2pm today, police we re that approximately 2pm today, police were called to a stabbing at a premises near to london bridge. emergency services attended, including officers from the city of london police and the metropolitan police called a male suspect was shot by armed officers from the city of london police, and i can confirm that the suspect died at the scene. a number of other people received injuries during this incident your meadow as soon as injuries during this incident your meadow as soon as we can injuries during this incident your meadow as soon as we can provide updates on their condition, we will, and our heartfelt sympathies go out

to everyone involved in this and are anxiously waiting for information on their loved ones. as soon as we can get that information, we will get it to you. as you would suspect, due to the nature of the incidents, we responded as though this was terrorist related to mero i know in a position to confirm it has been declared a terrorist incident. we are joining declared a terrorist incident. we arejoining with the declared a terrorist incident. we are joining with the city of london police as we continue to respond. 0fficers police as we continue to respond. officers from the met counterterrorism units are leading this investigation, but will retain an open mind. due to reports that the suspect may have had an explosive device, specialist officers also attended the scene and cordons are in place to make sure the remains no further danger to the public. i can confirm that a device strapped to the body of a suspect is a hoax device. 0fficers continue to

carry out searches in the area to ensure there is no outstanding threat to the public. those extensive cordons will remain in place for a considerable time, and i would ask the public, please, continue to avoid the area called public safety is obviously our top priority ma wrote we will be enhancing police patrols both within the city and across london. i would ask anyone with information, images orfootage of ask anyone with information, images or footage of the incident that can be shared with our investigation tea m be shared with our investigation team to do so under uk police appeal website. i would also ask the public to continue to remain vigilant and report any concerns that they have to the police. we were hearing from scotla nd to the police. we were hearing from scotland yard there, and what our correspondence is at new scotland ya rd correspondence is at new scotland yard for us. you are at that briefing, talking to the police, what is the latest information you

have, the latest picture of what happened at london bridge this afternoon? our understanding is that that press conference was around for pm this afternoon, we are expecting to get another update within the next hour. he said at that press conference this afternoon that when there was more information to give, particularly about the numbers of people injured, then they would get that information. since that press conference, our understanding is that there have been two members of the public killed, plus the suspect. it is thought a further three members of the public have been seriously injured. as i say, we know no more than that at the moment. the metropolitan police think they have to respect the privacy of those who have been injured. it is a very busy in london, there are here, it it may

be quite tricky to determine the identity of those people who have been hurt and killed and their families will have to be contacted, so families will have to be contacted, so it's not necessarily a fast process. in the meantime, the police are asking for any eye witnesses to come forward. social media is awash with photographs and video of the incident taking place, police are asking for access to that footage as pa rt asking for access to that footage as part of their investigation. of course, there is a big sense of reassuring the public called at the moment, sadiq khan also spoke outside new scotland yard earlier on and he was trying to give a message of reassurance. 0bviously, and he was trying to give a message of reassurance. obviously, there will be people extremely concerned about what happens, people who maybe we re about what happens, people who maybe were here or live around the area and may have been caught up in the incident which happened 2.5 years ago. terrible memories were being brought back to them of what

happened today. sadiq khan said very clearly, we've been here before but we must stand resolute, and a message from the police as victory in the public to remain calm but to be alert and vigilant route. thank you very much. indeed, the terror threat level had only recently been reduced from severe to substantial. we're hearing from the british transport police that they are going to be putting more police officers on the streets of london over the weekend, including firearms officers as well. partly to reassure the people of london after what has happened today. but as sarah was saying, what has happened today at london bridge has reminded people in this part of the capital of the horrific events here two years ago when eight people died. but having said that, they have reacted pretty calmly to what has happened. that's

the latest from here next to london bridge, the scene of the attack today, back to the studio. were just werejust under two were just under two weeks to go until the general election, but the conservatives and labour have posed campaigning following this afternoon's events. jeremy corbyn said that labour has suspended campaigning a mark mark of respect for those who suffered in the attack. boris johnson for those who suffered in the attack. borisjohnson returned from his constituency to london after the attack, and party sources have confirmed that he will cancel all political events tomorrow to focus on london bridge. earlier, the prime minister gave the statement from downing street to meru i've just been briefed by the commissioner and assistant commissioner of the metropolitan police about events at london bridge this afternoon. while this is an ongoing investigation, the police can confirm that this is a terrorist incident called clearly,

my thoughts are first with the emergency services, the police, the bravery that they've shown in going towards danger, as they do. i also wa nt towards danger, as they do. i also want to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of those members of the public, who physically intervened to protect the lives of others. for me, they represent the very best of our country and i thank them on behalf of all our country. i think we're all very saddened, also, to learn that some people have been injured in this event, and our sympathies are very much with them and with their loved ones. clearly, the metropolitan police are continuing their investigations, and i can assure you and assure everyone that anybody involved in this crime and these attacks, will be hunted down

and brought to justice. these attacks, will be hunted down and brought tojustice. i think the message that we send to them and anyone associated with this type of attack is one that will be familiar, and that is that this country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack. and our values, our british values, will prevail. prime minister, have you learned any more from your briefings with senior officers about the suspects in the background to this incident, whether or not you're able to share that with us now? there is a certain amount of the police are able to share with us at the moment, but it is not yet entirely clear and not at a stage where it's possible to go public to meru but what i will say is that here at numberio meru but what i will say is that here at number 10 we will continue to have meetings and consultations are the evening goes on. you understand the immediate danger from this has passed with the killing of

the suspects? to the best of our knowledge, the incident has been contained. i pay tribute, again, to the work of the police and emergency services in what they've done. i would urge everybody, of course, to be vigilant and one cannot help but think back to what happened in 2017, in the same part of the city. i hope that people will be able, as fast as possible, to go about their normal business. and finally, this happened in the middle of a general election campaign, will campaigning continue as normal? i obviously have some eye campaigning for this evening, but will be reviewing the matter is a matter of course the next few hours. the prime minister speaking earlier. taking another look at what happened

earlier this afternoon, this was the video that was sent in to us, which appears to show a member of the public rustling with a man on the floor. you can see that member of the public just bending floor. you can see that member of the publicjust bending over the manic. 0nce the publicjust bending over the manic. once we then see as armed police, who move in and pull the passer—by away. the shots i then heard. you can then see the police climbing over the railing there. this is the next video, shown from a different angle, police running towards that group that had gathered around the man. the video appears to show a large knife, which is taken away. the man on the left running towards, with a blackjacket on, he is holding the knife in his right hand, as police continue to

surround. you can hand, as police continue to surround. you can see hand, as police continue to surround. you can see the police officer pointing a gun at the suspects, and we believe that was then the shots were fired to mary. the mayor of london has given a statement on the incidence, where he paid tribute to the emergency services and members of the public, who, he said, risk their own safety earlier this afternoon. he reminded the public to stay vigilant. what's remarkable about the images were seen as remarkable about the images were seen as the heroism of members of the public who literally ran towards danger, not knowing what confronted them. we know from the statements given by the assistant commissioner there appears to have been a device on the suspect you may read members of the public do not realise at the time that was a hoax device, and they really are the best of us, another example of the bravery and heroism of ordinary londoners, running towards danger, risking their own personal safety to try and save others you made it i want to

thank them on the heart of all londoners because it shows the best of us. this isjust a couple of yea rs of us. this isjust a couple of years after the last attack, how does that affect you personally as mayor of a city where it appears the terrorism threat has not gone down? iam terrorism threat has not gone down? i am mayor of the greatest city in the world, one of our greatest strengths is our diversity. but we do know that there are people out there who hates our diversity and seek to divide us. what is amazing about this is we saw in one individual, the suspect, the worst of humanity, but also saw the response of the public and our emergency services, the best of humanity are made out the message i was sent to londoners and around the world is that we're wrestlers, we stand united in the face of terrorism, and we will not allow anyone to divide us. what you feel

as mayor when you hear about something as serious as this?” speak to colleagues around the world, mayors of other great cities, targets for terrorists. the fact is, since the incidents in 2017, thanks to the intelligence provided by members of the public, we have thwarted more than 20 attempts and terrorism on innocent citizens. that was sadiq khan there. our correspondence is with us, and to sadiq khan were saying, this comes just weeks after the uk's security threat level was downgraded? november the 4th, it was downgraded to likely from substantial, there was less activity seen by the authorities in terms of operational planning, and that means that this partly did come out of the blue,

there was no intelligence suggesting attack was coming in any way, and it was left for the police and in some cases the public to react to it in the way they did, which was pretty swift from what we can tell. the first call came in at around 2pm, and then shot as much as ten minutes later. an eyewitness at the scene that i spoke to said he saw those shots and incident on the bridge, but it looks like just before that, there are these stabbings in the area. it is a little unclear at the moment exactly what happened in their and how it linked to what happens on the bridge and whether this was random at or some element of targeting. that may become clear as the police continue their investigations and try to find out as much as they can about this individual has been shot dead. as much as they can about this individual has been shot deadm terms of the investigation being carried out, what are the immediate

priorities? we have heard talk of having to keep an open mind, but this will probably be a lone wolf operation. the indications are this looks like a lone actor because they don't look like they're looking for anyone else at the moment. the two seem anyone else at the moment. the two seem to be searching for another group who might of been around this, and we hear that from sadiq khan and borisjohnson and we hear that from sadiq khan and boris johnson and others and we hear that from sadiq khan and borisjohnson and others and from the language the potters have used. they believe it's contained. a does not look like there are other attackers at the scene, but they will want to know what motivates this individual, how was he turn towards violence and who is it connected to, did he have a associates? did anyone help him, is earning potential residual threat from associates who might want to carry out attacks. that will be the most urgent priority for the police going forward. this was classed as a terrorist incident pretty quickly, is that normal? what would have led them to make that decision so quickly? i think, a

them to make that decision so quickly? ithink, a combination them to make that decision so quickly? i think, a combination of things. partly just quickly? i think, a combination of things. partlyjust because of how it looked. the use of a knife, the targeting of civilians at a high profile place like london bridge, which has been a target before, also the fact the individual appears to have had a fake explosive vest that they were wearing. all of those point towards something which the police would classify as a terrorist incident. they don't necessarily definitively prove it and it will wa nt to definitively prove it and it will want to wait and be more skinny about the motivation and any possible ideology behind the attack before being sure, but these are elements of those like them to make that conclusion. and out of caution, they will want to treat it as that kind of incidents, because that will then drive the resources and response and level of seriousness with which it's treated to. so even if you're not sure, in that situation if you think it's possible or likely, they will consider it best to treat it as a terrorist

incident. we see images of the public running away from the scene, there was a campaign launched a while back called run, hide, tell we've seen acts of bravery from the public it went completely against that? the advice is clear there to protect people, and it is dangerous to run towards an incident, but there are cases in which people have saved lives, and this is a case where they may have made a very important role in trying to detain that person. it looks like from the video, it's hard to be sure, but looks like members of the public we re looks like members of the public were wrestling him to the ground to detaining him until members of the police could peel them off, particularly because i thought there might have been an explosive vest. 0ne might have been an explosive vest. one person is seen to be taking a knife away from the scene to reduce the danger. really pray things to do, which is not necessary to say that people feel they should do this in such an incident, because it will be incidents where the threat is larger than that and still ongoing, and if that individual still had a

explosive vest, it could have been different. it's difficult to tell people what they should or should not do, and the advice is there because the police want to minimise risk to life, but clearly some people are and have been brave. and what about the decision to shoot, because it is unusual for this to happen in the united kingdom. the suspect was shot pretty quickly once those armed officers arrived on the scene. those armed officers arrived on the scene. what sort of decision process ta kes scene. what sort of decision process takes place. it is quite simple in some ways, because if there continuing threat to life and does this person pose a threat to life the? if so, is the only way to deal with that to shoot them the? if you see someone with that to shoot them the? if you see someone attacking people with a knife, you know they pose a threat, that does not mean you will always ta ke that does not mean you will always take a lethal shot at that point, but if you think they have an explosive vest, you are certainly well, because you do not want them to d eto nate well, because you do not want them to detonate it. is the situations in which the decision—making chain may be more straightforward than it

might appear. question marks are over where exactly this incident began, but fairly early on, the police spoke of an incident taking place at a premises. talk and that looks to be fishmongers hall, on the north side of the top of the bridge, and it looks like that... the eyewitness i spoke to at the scene half an hour after it happened said he saw because it is being brought out of that building. the implication as it started there. there were other places where began, and it's not quite clear. it is possible this could have been targeted in some way, people at fishmongers hall, and then a person fled or it could have been more random and he entered the hall to target random people, that's not something we can be sure about yet. going back to our discussion and said khan talking about the threat level, he said it's under review, but it's always under review, he

mentioned attacks that have been thwarted in the past. —— sadiq khan. when the security people decide to step in? in terms of the threat level going up, that is a continuous assessment based on the picture they are seeing. they are seeing plots being disrupted. they would have been different levels of seriousness, some of those plots, some of them would have been much more sophisticated and advanced than others, and close to happening, some of them might be low—tech, as this one appears to be. about a third, a growing number have been extreme right—wing plots, compared to the two hardest threats we have seen in the past. the threat picture is changing and quite dynamic. but the view a month ago would have been that it was diminishing, the overall threat, and likelihood, but this clearly shows that it is still possible. it went from highly likely

to likely, and we have seen that that does really mean it could happen at any time. we will leave it there for now. thank you very much. just to bring you more reaction that's coming into us from leading party figures, they have been paying tribute to the emergency services involved in that attack on london bridge. paying tribute at the beginning of the bbc debate that is taking place at the moment. joe swinson has said that everybody felt heartbroken by what they had witnessed today, and the huge, huge courage shown by the public and emergency services. the snp leader nicola sturgeon has said that there had been exceptional acts of bravery on behalf of the public. and rebecca long—bailey said, i'm sure everyone's thoughts are with friends and families of those injured, and

two people who we know have tragically died. the chief secretary of the treasury of the conservatives paid tribute to the police for their incredible bravery. just to remind you that the prime minister has cancelled all political activity tomorrow, as well, to concentrate on events that are taking place at london bridge. you are watching bbc news. two people have been killed in what police have called a terrorist incident on london bridge. shortly before 2pm this afternoon, armed officers shot dead a man believed to be wearing a hoax explosive device. members of the public ran towards the man who had a nice, and went on to restrain him until police were able to step in. tom edwards reports on how events unfolded. this footage showed what appeared to be ordinary londoners again tackling a terrorist on london bridge. 0fficers intervened. it happened on

the north side of the thames. two yea rs the north side of the thames. two years ago, london bridge was the scene years ago, london bridge was the scene of a terrorist attack. there appeared to be a fight going on on the other side of the bridge with several men attacking one man. police arrived, including armed police, and then a number of shots we re police, and then a number of shots were fired at this man. from the top ofa were fired at this man. from the top of a bus, were fired at this man. from the top ofa bus, here, a man were fired at this man. from the top of a bus, here, a man with were fired at this man. from the top ofa bus, here, a man with a were fired at this man. from the top of a bus, here, a man with a blue tie, is seen running from the incident with what looks like a knife in his hand. we won't show it, but moments later an armed officer opens fire. a lot more gunshots, and then people started to run off the bridge... just before two o'clock it started, phone footage taken from nearby offices shows crowds fleeing from london bridge. here, schoolchildren are seen running down the street. as emergency services we re the street. as emergency services were quickly on the scene. within the space of about 20 seconds, we

heard gunshots. there were people in the cafe opposite, the police open the cafe opposite, the police open the doors, everybody sprinted out. all at once it was very panicking. but they got everybody out of the area pretty quick. as a major incident was declared, here footage shows police confronting a white lorry on the bridge. as they put in a large exclusion zone pretty quickly. clearly they dealt with this pretty quickly. an eyewitness told me that shots were fired. that individual seems to be already down on the bridge when that happened, the eyewitness told me. —— seemed to be already down. two and a half hours after the incident, police confirmed a man was shot dead at the scene, and a number of people were injured. this family was one of many

caught up in the chaos. the restau ra nt caught up in the chaos. the restaurant owners were just, like, come in, come in, they switched all of the lights off, the lights in the kitchen went off, and we were told to get on the floor. from sitting, just enjoying a meal, to that so quickly, obviously, it was quite scary for all of us. this was the day terror again came to london bridge. again, it seems, londoners stop this attack are becoming much worse. 0ur our home affairs correspondent is at a london bridge this evening. behind you we can see that police are still working at the scene. yes, it is becoming clear this is a pretty big operation in terms of investigation for the police. we've had a walk around the huge chord and which is in place around the city, which is in place around the city, which covers a very large area, right down to the river on both sides of london bridge. we've seen,

for example, a tent has been put up over the bridge, still the body of the man who was shot dead by the police is under there. we've also seen police is under there. we've also seen forensics officers in full forensics gear, including masks, around the area of the monument itself, a well—known location in central london. where we are now, though you cannot see it, isjust down from monument underground station. when the cordon was removed, we could see down to the station, but then that blue screen behind me has been put up and the va ns behind me has been put up and the vans have been put up to block that view. what does that mean? we know what happened in the incident where the man was subdued by all of these passers—by, very bravely, then shot by the police. what we don't know is what happened in the ten, 15 minutes before that. there are some suggestions that this was quite a mobile incident, that something might have been going on at monument

tube station, or at monument itself, and ata tube station, or at monument itself, and at a nearby livery hall, which is just off the bridge itself. and at a nearby livery hall, which isjust off the bridge itself. that isjust off the bridge itself. that is what the police are looking very closely at. they will no pretty clearly because they will have eyewitnesses and those involved in it, but at this stage they aren't saying what led to this incident on the northern end of london bridge. this is a very busy area. it's very commercial. have they indicated how long they will be operating in the area, how long it'll be before it opens up? with some experience of these things in 2017, for example, when the area around london bridge, borough market, when three men attacked there, that was closed for some time. businesses really started to suffer over the days. but, time. businesses really started to suffer overthe days. but, of course, they have together evidence of what happened here. because even if there was only one attacker, and he is an attacker, and he has been killed, there still needs to be an

inquest into the sad deaths of the two people that we understand have died in this incident. and, of course, there will be other injuries, and other injured people. their cases will need to be looked at, as well. it is still a big police operation. i suspect the cord and will get a smaller, but that the investigation will go on for some days. —— the cordon. british transport police say they will be increasing their presence at key locations. westminster bridge, following that attack, saw an increase in security presence. what is it normally like on london bridge? well, london bridge has had those barriers added since the 2017 attack, which prevent what the police call a vehicle borne attack, a car, van basically being used to

attack pedestrians walking past. there are always police on the streets of london. but there are a couple of things police are generally doing in the background, which perhaps you or i do not see. there are patrols looking for people who might be looking at doing a terrorist attack. if you ever stopped and taken pictures, like i have on the river bank near westminster, quite quickly a police officer will come along and ask what you are doing and who you are. there are armed patrols on standby to respond. in the city here, there might well be some, as well, but the police don't talk much about that. since 2017, in particular, and just generally, the level of security on the streets has been increased. as we do know, the overall level was reduced at the beginning of this month from severe. things were thought to have calmed down a little

bit in this cat and mouse game against potential terrorism. as you say that, we understand the prime minister has called the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, regarding events this evening and this afternoon on london bridge, and a decision is awaiting on whether the government's emergency committee cobra should meet. that will be judged on the basis of the meeting, it is understood. so, further updates, we are awaiting those on bbc news. let's turn our thoughts to the injured. sadly, two people have died. what can you tell us about the other injured people, and where they have been taken for treatment? well, this isn't confirmed, but i think they have been taken to royal london hospital, probably the nearest of the four major trauma units which are maintained by the nhs to deal with this sort of stabbing incident in london. if you

are stabbed in london, you are taking to one of these four centres, there you will get really the best ca re there you will get really the best care the nhs in london can offer. because they really kept the expertise about dealing with the sorts of injuries in those four different centres. we don't know much more about them. nothing has been said about who these people are, their injuries, but i think it is probably fair to say that they are going to be serious. it does, from the outside, look as if they we re from the outside, look as if they were deliberately targeted by that man potentially chased and stabbed, and clearly that is going to be an awful and potentially life—threatening situation. and we also know that two people have sadly lost their lives. all that is going on. as well as the police operation. and the government is thinking about its next move. there is no intelligence to suggest —— if there is no intelligence to suggest another attack, then a cobra meeting might not be needed. i suspect there

will be a lot of breathing going on. we know the commissioner of the metropolitan police, cressida dick, and the head of counterterrorism in britain have been to see the government and have briefed the prime minister. there is a lot of talking going on tonight about how to respond to this. thank you for bringing us up to date on the latest following that london bridge attack. thank you. a little earlier, my colleague ben brown spoke to the bbc correspondent john mcmanus who was a eyewitness to the events on london bridge. i was crossing london bridge from the south side of the thames to the north. sometime after two o'clock, i think it was about ten past two, i notice a few people suddenly running very quickly past me going in the opposite direction. i then looked across the road to the western side of the bridge, and i could see what appeared to be what i thought was a fight going on. there was some

shouting going on. then i saw what was looking like a scrum with lots of people jumping onto somebody on the pavement on the other side of the pavement on the other side of the bridge from me. they suddenly jumped up and started running away very quickly. i then realised there we re very quickly. i then realised there were armed police just in front of me training their guns on this person who was on that side of the bridge. we were all told to clear off the bridge immediately. we began to do that. as i was doing that, two shots rang out. i did not see the gun is fired. i did not see the impact. but after those shots were fired, that person who had been on the other side of the bridge lay prone on the bridge. we have now learnt from the police that the suspect died at the scene. we were all suspect died at the scene. we were a ll cleared suspect died at the scene. we were all cleared away from the bridge very quickly. there was some panic. the people followed police orders. when the bridge was out of sight, i heard what appeared to be several more shots also ring out. we were pushed very far back. hundreds of

metres away from the bridge. i assume the same happened on the south side of the bridge, as well. a sudden incident. seemed to be over pretty quickly. then, as you say, the area was closed down and there we re the area was closed down and there were police cordons everywhere. hundreds of people were pushed away from the bridge. what runs through your mind when you are hearing what are your mind when you are hearing what a re clearly your mind when you are hearing what are clearly gunshots, and you are seeing all of that panic? very surreal. you did not know what was going on. there were several people, asi going on. there were several people, as i say, running past me. you thought, are they running towards london bridge station, maybe they are about to miss a train... then you realise something else is going on. then i thought there was a fight. then it suddenly turns into something much, much more serious. i think there were two police officers with their guns trained on somebody on the bridge. it was surreal. i don't rememberfeeling on the bridge. it was surreal. i don't remember feeling scared. i remember obeying the police orders.

they were asking us to get off the bridge as quickly as possible. that bridge, one of the most well—known bridges in london where tourists go to get fantastic views of tower bridge, there were many people taking photos, seeing the sites, i think you could see the dome of st paul's cathedral from there. many tourists on the bridge, as well, who i suspect were very frightened and, like me at the time, were unsure of what was going on. the police seemed to react pretty quickly. yes, i remember seeing two police officers who were standing with their guns aimed at this person on the other side of the bridge. as we were pushed off the bridge, suddenly more police arrived, there were sirens everywhere. there were lots of police personnel on foot. it seemed like there was a big response. i don't know what happened to initiate that response. we have seen the police response and the reports of a

stabbing. i didn't see any of that. i saw what appeared to be a fight, but it seemed more serious. and it seems like many members of the public tried to get involved, as well. we've seen pictures on social media of the police having to pull people off the attacker. extraordinary bravery, it appears. there was a man on my side of the road who jumped over the there was a man on my side of the road whojumped over the barrier, because their anti—terrorism barriers on all of london's bridges now, he ran over to help out. but everybody cleared away when the police ordered everybody off the bridge. we are getting information from bbc sources that the prime minister has decided that cobra, the security committee, the emergency committee, will be meeting this evening at 9:30pm. cobra will be convening at

9:30pm. cobra will be convening at 9:30pm this evening. let's talk now to the former commander of specialist operations for the metropolitan police. thank you for speaking to us on bbc news. first off, your reaction to how quickly security services reacted to that incident on london bridge. impressed that their courage, their professionalism, it was exemplary. they were there on the scene, doing exactly what they are trained to do. i don't think londoners could have hoped or expected more or better from the police officers who arrived on that scene. to put into context, we have all been talking about this for hours. those guys had to make life or death decisions within seconds, and they did so with extraordinary professionalism. and great credit also to the members of the public who ran towards danger.

what's next for this investigation, where does this investigation begin? it is working backwards from what has happened on that bridge to find out where this man came from. every second of his movements throughout certainly today, going back, finding out who he is, how he got to london bridge, how he got the fishmongers hall —— to fishmongers hall. was he alone all day. his history. going to his associates, finding out if this was a lone wolf attack, whether others were involved, whether others had run off. this is a massive investigation and it'll take a long time to get to the bottom of this. that is the kind of forensic detail the police officers will be engaged in now. well, so much of that these days takes place online. how easy is it to trace somebody‘s digital footprint? it is a twofold thing.

yes, it takes place online, but it's also about interviewing witnesses, it's about going to his home, going to people who knew him, speaking to them. it's about comparing that with them. it's about comparing that with the digital footprint, seeing them. it's about comparing that with the digitalfootprint, seeing if them. it's about comparing that with the digital footprint, seeing if it matches anything, seeing if there are differences between the two strands of the investigation, and trying to get as big and as accurate a picture of this man's life as is possible. until the police know that they cannot know if this was an entirely lone wolf attack, or if there is some sort of terrorist cell out there the police need to be concerned about. those are the issues the investigation will pursue vigorously now. many tributes have been paid to the bravery of the members of the public who acted this afternoon. sadly two have reportedly died. there was an evacuation process which took place. what sort of training and how difficult is it

for security forces to control the public in an incident like the one we saw? it's very difficult. the city of london, in particular, there are tens of thousands of people going about their business, going home, going to their offices, etc. the police are very hard for this. we have seen full—scale terrorist incident exercises trained in london, literally a few hundred metres away from where this attack took place. they put in as much effort as possible. it is compartmentalised to some degree, the armed officers on counter patrols will have a strand of training. 0ther patrols will have a strand of training. other officers will have a less intense training, but it is about getting people away from the danger zone. it's about protecting life. that is imbued into every police officer from basic training onwards. that is what it is about. minimising the risk to life. talking about training, police officers have to make very swift and decisive

decisions once they are on the scene. decisions once they are on the scene. in 2017, the attackers were shown to have had steroids in their system. so, you know, there is that element, how difficult is it for security officers to assess what sort of scene they are entering? it's very difficult. these guys have these weapons. they've done all the training. they've had their training reinforce time and time again. in the back of their minds, they also know that if they open fire under any circumstances, every shot they use will be subject to the closest examination possible. their actions will need to be looked at in minute detail. so that the judgments that they take in split seconds to protect the public are then subject

to scrutiny over weeks. those police officers, they are incredibly brave, but they've got quite a lot in front of them now, giving statements to a coroner, to investigators. we, the public, could know exactly what happened. thank you very much for that inside information. former commander of specialist operations for the metropolitan police. thank very much. we arejust very much. we are just getting some breaking news coming into us here. there are reports from the netherlands that several people have been injured in a stabbing incident in a busy shopping area in the hague. emergency services are at the scene. we also understand that the alleged attack is reportedly still at large. these are early reports of a

stabbing incident that's taken place in the netherlands near the shopping area in the hague. the suspected attacker is still at large. we will keep you updated. karen bosh was on a bus when the incident happened, she explained us what she saw. i was on the number 21 bus, around two o'clock in the coming southbound on to london bridge. we had just pulled away from the bus stop on the very north side of the bridge and we noticed people running across the road, looking over their shoulder, filming over their shoulder, sort of running into the street. the bus stopped quite suddenly. we all looked to see what was going on. on the right side, so come on the other side pavement, there was sort of a tussle or a fight. people in dark jackets sort of fighting with each

other. the next thing i noticed was there were three policemen and one very tall man in a blackjacket with a beard who, next thing i saw, was on the ground. i saw the three police officers had guns and i heard two pops. i also saw a spent taser. i presume they were gunshots, but i don't know. when he was lying on the floor, after the pops, he sort of pulled his jacket back, and you could see underneath there was some sort of vest. whether it was a stab vest, or an explosive vest, and at that point the police officer really backed away. i was really scared at this point, of course, because we we re this point, of course, because we were about as close as the police officers in the bus. after the pops he was lying there alive. he had the desired effect of the police backing off are not shooting any more, but for us it was terrifying because even though he was lying on the floor he could still have damaged us. the bus had stopped. we were

only a few metres away. if something happened, i was with my child —— something happened, there was a woman with her baby on the bus. i moved the baby as quickly as i could. so if anything happened, she was a bit protected away from the window, away from the side of the bus. ijust window, away from the side of the bus. i just wanted window, away from the side of the bus. ijust wanted to get the baby away from there as quickly as possible. although, the quickest thing would be to get off the bus, but you don't know how many people are out there, what's going on, they could be more than one attacker, so staying put seem to be the safest thing for the baby. but i could have may be run quickly by myself. i thought, stay put, may be the bus could drive us a little bit further away. i just wanted could drive us a little bit further away. ijust wanted to get her as far away as quickly as possible. i've been around london bridge ten yea rs, i've been around london bridge ten years, welcome all of the three attacks now, i've been nearby, in

the vicinity. as a medical doctor i normally want to get close and help, but with the baby your instincts change, you want to get as far away as quickly as possible. that was an eyewitness, who was on a bus at the time of the attack. this latest incident comes after the terror attack in 2017 which started on london bridge and spread to borough market. eight people were killed. in the intervening years shops and traders there have rebuild their lives and businesses. borough market was once again today evacuated after another killing on london bridge. abdullah has been running his moroccan cafe opposite borough market for 11 years. this afternoon he was alerted to the terror attack on london bridge when he saw people running away down the street. this brought back familiar but unwanted emotions for him. it's not memories

you would like to remember. memories you would like to remember. memories you would like to remember. memories you would like to put behind you and look forward, yes, it is not good for no one. two years ago, people took refuge in nearby businesses when three men launched an attack in the london bridge area in which eight people we re bridge area in which eight people were killed. then many people were led to safety just as they were led from the scene today. for many of the people working and living near here, today's events have reminded them of the london terror attack which happened here two years ago which happened here two years ago which led to this area being locked down, much like it is this evening. borough market, shops, and restau ra nts borough market, shops, and restaurants have been closed early on what would be a bustling and busy friday night in the capital. instead, workers evacuated were left wondering how to get home. a lot of people will be taken aback, this will bring back a lot of memories

for many people, including a lot of my colleagues. 0ur for many people, including a lot of my colleagues. our main priority is focusing on making sure we are safe, which we all are. back at the cafe, these dentist students were evacuated from guy's hospital within the —— from guy's hospital, within the cordon. having it happen so close to where we study, it is worrying because it could happen again, we could be caught up in it, this time we we re could be caught up in it, this time we were lucky enough to be in a lecture. once again, uncertainty for all of those here after disturbing events. you are watching bbc news. just a reminder of events that have taken place earlier today. a man has been shot dead following that terrorist incident. it has been classed as a terrorist incident by the metropolitan police. this is the

video which was sent to us. you can see members of the public that are gathered around a man who was then shot dead by city of london police, who attended that. a man was seen running away from the scene, a member of the public who had managed to retrieve a knife from the suspect. more on this right here on bbc news. the time is a man is shot dead by police on london bridge. several people are stabbed and two members of the public have died. police call it a terrorist incident. the male suspect was wearing a hoax explosive device on his body. members of the public wrestled with the man carrying a knife and pulled him to the ground. a male suspect was shot by specialist officers and i can confirm that the suspect died at the scene. the prime minister will chair a meeting of the government's emergency cobra committee shortly. earlier, he praised the public's

response to the attack. i also want to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of those members of the public who physically intervened. to protect the lives of others. and for me, they represent the very best of our country. the bbc‘s been told that two people died in an attack this afternoon on london bridge. police have declared it a terrorist incident. a man, believed to be the attacker, also died after being shot by police. more people were seriously injured in the attack, though it's not yet been revealed how many. the attack happened just before 2pm this afternoon.

police say they were called to an incident at a premises near london bridge amid reports of a stabbing. shortly afterwards, eyewitnesses filmed members of the public as they cornered a man carrying a knife on the north side of the bridge and pinned him to the ground. armed police arrived within minutes and shot him. he had a device — which turned out to be fake — strapped to his body. the man died at the scene. the prime minister, who returned to london from his constituency following the attack, has called an emergency cobra meeting this evening in response to events. tonight, the passerbys who stepped in have been praised for their bravery and their breathtaking heroism. our home affairs correspondent, tom symonds, is at london bridge. just update us with what's taking

place at the moment regarding police activity? it's a massive police investigation, a whole section of the city of london, the financial district, is close. what we don't know at this stage is what happened in the minutes before this group of passers by subdued this man and the police shot him. we have had a good look at what the police are doing and it does look as though they are looking at areas concentrated on areas some way away from the london bridge station itself. this tube station is just bridge station itself. this tube station isjust behind bridge station itself. this tube station is just behind these vans, and we have seen a scene of crime officers in full forensic gear around the monument tube station area. there were also looking at the fishmongers' hall near to the bridge. we do not know exact what this man was doing before he was subdued. lets get an idea of the events of the day, what has been happening since lunchtime, when this

incident began at. this report does contain some images that viewers may find distressing. it was a crisp afternoon in the city of londonjust it was a crisp afternoon in the city of london just before 2pm, when suddenly, there was a panic. passengers on a bus or armed officers pointing their weapons, then an officer goes forward. there was a struggle, from which one man broke free, carrying a knife, telling people to leave. another man is pulled away from the malay. and the police open fire. oh, my god. in the police open fire. oh, my god. in the next thing i knew, there were two loud pops. when he was lying on the floor, after the pops, he pulled hisjacket back,

the floor, after the pops, he pulled his jacket back, and the floor, after the pops, he pulled hisjacket back, and you could see underneath there was some kind of vest, whether a stab vest or an explosive vest, and at that point, the police officers really backed away. of course, i was really scared at this point, because we were about as close as the police officers and our bus, so that was really scary. it was very difficult, because you see everyone rushing and you really fearfor see everyone rushing and you really fear for your own safety. i think the major thing was to get out of the major thing was to get out of the way and get down, and then you just feel very scared and anxious about what's happening. out of the way, please! official say two members of the public, as well as the suspect, have died. this is mad. due to reports that the suspect may have had an explosive device, specialist officers also attended the scene and why cordons are in place through ensure they remain no further danger to the public.

however, i can confirm that at this time, we believe the device strapped to the body of the suspect is a hoax explosive device. the london ambulance service declared it a major incident. the mayor of london praised the courage of the public, who tackled the suspect. they really are the best of us, another example of the bravery and heroism of ordinary londoners, running towards danger, risking their own personal safety, to try and save others. i wa nt to safety, to try and save others. i want to say thank you to them on the heart of all londoners, but also because it shows the best of us. within minutes, armed officers were revving from every corner of london, as well as specialist teams with dogs. the city, sealed off. it's 2.5 yea rs dogs. the city, sealed off. it's 2.5 years since the horrors of the london bridge attack. 3.5 weeks ago, the threat level was lowered from severe to substantial. this afternoon, the city was reliving the horrors of that summer night.

joining me now on the phone is amir eden, who was walking home through borough market when the attack happened. tell us what happened to you? basically, i had finished friday prayers and want to get some shopping, and i went to the tesco. i was coming back and was going through the archway into borough market, i heard a very loud bang. at first, i didn't know what it was, and then i heard various people screaming and shouting and running, so screaming and shouting and running, soi screaming and shouting and running, so i ran. iwas screaming and shouting and running, so i ran. i was going home, screaming and shouting and running, so i ran. iwas going home, so screaming and shouting and running, so i ran. i was going home, so i screaming and shouting and running, so i ran. iwas going home, so i ran towards my house and i was just hoping, really, really hoping as i was running, that it wasn't the same as it was injune 2017, because i

was also caught up then, i was on the bridge where the van smashed into the railings. ijust really hoped it was not that, and now we know, well, it's still unfolding, and the police have it under control. the fact that you were there two years ago was why we wa nted there two years ago was why we wanted to talk to you. what was it like, thinking that something very similar might be happening again? you are in the same place on two different occasions when the sort of attack happened. i drew know what to feel. lots of different feelings right now, and they will all come to a head tomorrow. there is the feeling of the frustrating thing that has happened again, and being angry and sad for the people that have lost their lives. it's good to

see the heroism of the emergency services, but really, the biggest bang is for us, as a community, while we have been very close, we are always told it would never happen again, it would never happen twice in the same place. so it feels like the community is once again under attack and what can we do? different people have said different things, but we feel powerless to stop this happening. can we have the reassurance that this will not happen again? there are a lot of different feelings, and some people feel they want to leave the area, others do not want to hear anything about it, they want to be at home and not turn on the tv. seeing those who are locked out of their homes and outside the cordoned area. there area and outside the cordoned area. there are a lot of different feelings, and iam not are a lot of different feelings, and i am not able to say more than that. will just have i am not able to say more than that. willjust have to see how it goes. you are involved in a community

group in this part of london, i'm interested to see a resilient people are when they deal with all the disruption. what was it like for the local businesses and community dealing with a police investigation like the one here, which will probably go for some days? last time round, it was difficult. it was the first time, but the community to come together very swiftly and we helped each other out and got to where we are and back on our feet. we will do the same again, we are a community that is proud and celebrates all the different things that happen in our area, all the diversity. we do that regardless of attacks or bad situations. we will do that on good, happy, momentous occasions as well. will continue to do that, business will continue to go ahead and the community will be doing what it does best. but there is that a process that we're going to have to go through again of

coming to terms has happened. thank you forjoining us and we wish you the best of luck that a peaceful evening. earlier in caroline davies' reports, we heard from neil basu, a statement outside scotland yard is giving us the latest what the police know and what they are saying. let's hear a little bit more of what they are saying. ican i can confirm earlier today that police were called to a stabbing on london bridge. emergency services attended, including officers from the city of london police and the metropolitan police. i male suspect was shot by armed officers from the city of london police, and i can confirm the suspect died at the scene. confirm the suspect died at the scene. a number of other people received injuries during this incident. as soon as we can provide further incidents on that condition, we will. everyone has been involved

in this and is anxiously awaiting information on their loved ones. as soon as we can get that information, we will get it to you. as you would suspect, due to the nature of the incidents, we responded as though this was terrorist related to mero i know in a position to confirm it has been declared a terrorist incident. we are joining with the city of london police as we continue to respond. officers from the met counterterrorism units are leading this investigation, but will retain an open mind. due to reports that the suspect may have had an explosive device, specialist officers also attended the scene and cordons are in place to make sure the remains no further danger to the public. however, i can confirm that a device strapped to the body of a suspect is a hoax device, we believe. 0fficers continue to carry out searches in the area to ensure there is no outstanding threat

to the public. those extensive cordons will remain in place for a considerable time, and i would ask the public, please, continue to avoid the area public safety is obviously our top priority. we will be enhancing police patrols both within the city and across london. i would ask anyone with information, images or footage of the incident that can be shared with our investigation team to do so under uk police appeal website. i would also ask the public to continue to remain vigilant and report any concerns that they have to the police. with me now is chris phillips, who's the former head of the national counter terrorism security unit. when you saw those pictures, those

brave people tackling that man, what we re brave people tackling that man, what were you thinking? it's interesting, because me and my time in the police and security services, we did say run, hide, tell the police, but what we've seen here run, hide, tell the police, but what we've seen here as run, hide, tell the police, but what we've seen here as members of the public in the opposite and they have almost certainly saved a number of lives by confronting the terrorist and dealing with him. we will go over to scotland yard shortly because cressida dick is about to get another statement. very quickly, tell me whether you think that run, tell, height advice is the right thing? because sometimes people may need to fight back. it's always the best thing to do, to move away from trouble. if you want to strive anyone carrying a knife, gun or whatever, the best to do is move away. but from time to time, if you think you can do it, taking on these

people will sometime stop an attack. these people obviously felt like that, and there is no doubt about it, they save lives. there are different advice in the states, because they suggest if you are in a corner need to fight, you should fight. it is the same advice in the uk, to be honest. the emphasis is put on it in the states, which i think is different. if you have no way of escaping, you need to do something about it, and the best thing you can do is attack in numbers and take that person down. metropolitan police commissioner cressida dick is speaking at new scotland yard. ...our ourcity our city of london has come again, been attacked by terrorism. it is with the heaviest of hearts that i have to 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 fishmongers hall in the city of london. my understanding is that police were called at 1358, two minutes before tpm, and city of london police officers had bravely and professionally confronted the suspect. —— before 2pm. they had done this by 1403, 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 wa nt to cannot, then get in touch with us. i want to thank all of the emergency services 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 protect the public. i also want to thank the members of the public who have helped. either by showing extraordinary courage and stepping in to tackle this attacker, or, indeed, by following the instructions they have subsequently been given by officers at the scene and in the area. this support from our public assists us much more than you could know. in the coming days,

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 counterterrorism detectives will be working around 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 of 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. thisjoint effort mustn't stop with the authorities. 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 indeed any concerns please do contact us. the empty ideology of terror offers nothing but hatred. and today i urge everyone to reject that. 0urs 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 very few who seek to divide us will never, ever succeed. thank you very much. i'm happy to ta ke thank you very much. i'm happy to take a couple of questions. do you think at this stage the assailant was in any way known by the police? this is a fast moving and dynamic investigation, we will keep you updated as we learn things, i cannot comment on that at the moment. inaudible again, a very fast moving enquiry, that's obviously a very important line of investigation for us, was this person involved with anybody else. if so, who? and of course we will be working to minimise any

threat there might be out there. inaudible i'm afraid i can't. that would be a lead for the hospitals and indeed the las. inaudible i can't at the moment, i'm not prepared to do that. of course, it's an absolute priority for us to identify who they are and make sure theirfamilies are identify who they are and make sure their families are informed. identify who they are and make sure theirfamilies are informed. i'm not going to say anything more, i'm afraid, that the two people who sadly died. inaudible i absolutely cannot confirm anything at this stage. but rest assured, we will tell you as soon as we reasonably can what we know about these people. but, of course, you would understand our priority first of all is to make a categorical identification, and secondly to ensure that their families are informed as swiftly and as properly

as we can. last one. inaudible i couldn't hear the question... i'm so sorry. . . inaudible so, ithink... we've inaudible so, i think... we've already put out an appeal. i will repeat it, anybody who was in the area, anybody who has, for example, any videos footage they think might be relevant, anybody who saw anything at that time, we would want to hear from them. we will be working as fast as we can to understand who this man is, where he comes from, and whether there is anybody else who we need to find quickly who might be in touch with him. thank you very much indeed. thank you. cressida dick there who has long experience of working in the world of counterterrorism, both inside the police and outside it, and will know

that you have to be very careful at this stage of an investigation as to what you say to the media. she sadly confirmed those two deaths on london bridge or close to it. she called it a terrible and mindless event. she said that it started close to fishmongers hall, which we understand is a livery hall which is accessible by some steps just to the side of london bridge, pretty close, and the incident went on for about five minutes before this man was confronted by police on the bridge. she said the police are working at full tilt and that these cordons would be in place for some time. she's let the home secretary, the prime minister, and the mayor of london be briefed. she said the ideology of terror offers nothing but hatred, and we should reject that. with me is chris phillips, the former head of national

counterterrorism. does it surprise you that this is all taking place in front of a livery company? it is an odd place, even though a similar incident did happen in 2017. odd place, even though a similar incident did happen in 20mm odd place, even though a similar incident did happen in 2017. it is. we expect these things to happen in iconic locations. there might be a back story to this which we might find out over the coming months and yea rs find out over the coming months and years ahead. but... it is clearly... two people have died, so someone really has set out to kill. how they intended to do that and for what reasons, that is the investigation. and the investigation starts with forensics and cctv, then it'll widen out, and when they know who this person is, then they will be looking at who he knows and whether they are connected. how big a job is that? massive. first thing you've got to do is make sure this person isn't pa rt do is make sure this person isn't part of a bigger group. it's not beyond the realms of possibility

that this person was one of a group and the others decide not to do anything. we won't know that. the police won't know that yet. they'll be trying to find out who he is, where he lived, we will soon know some addresses which have been searched, and his phone, all of that investigation will be going on. in order to track downjust investigation will be going on. in order to track down just who he is linked to. and it is a part of a bigger group, or is he a one off actor, as we like to call them. thank you for coming out on this cold night. we appreciate your expertise. we will hand back to the studio. we will bring you more on an incident which we reported earlier, regarding an attack in the netherlands in the area of the hague. several people have been injured. dutch police have confirmed that three people have been injured ina stabbing that three people have been injured

in a stabbing attack on a shopping street in the hague. the incident reportedly happened inside a department store and police are searching for a male perpetrator aged between 45 and 50, according to local reports. this is an ongoing incident. there has been a lot of imagery, a lot of it on social media. that has shown emergency services at the scene. and a very busy time because black friday is taking place. black friday shoppers at the scene, at this department store, where this stabbing attack has happened in the hague area. the condition of the three injured and the motive for the attack remains unclear. these are the latest pieces of information. we

will update you as and when we get more. earlier, we heard from lloyd griffiths, who filmed a video from the bus he was on at the time of the attack. he told us what he saw. we have been showing the film or evening. —— all evening. i was heading north on london bridge, probably about 80% of the way across the river. it was kind of like an altercation, or what looked like an altercation, that's what initially made me want to film the event, i thought it was very peculiar. from that moment, that's when i realised there was a knife involved, a large knife, and realised how quickly this was becoming serious. what was the reaction of people on the bus and what happened

as these events unfolded? most of us tried to stay calm. no—one really knew what was happening, it was a very fast situation that happened. 0bviously, once we saw the person was shot by police, we knew this was an extreme situation and at that point, we all went to the back of the bus, as far away as we could, because the doors were locked. after 30 seconds or so, police came across, shouting and telling us to get off the bus and run, and that's what everybody did. and what was the mood of people, was there a mood of calm, or were people panicking, screaming, what was the general reaction? i think in that situation, it's hard to know what's going on yourself. i think everybody was listening to the police advice just to run and leave. 0bviously, people listened

to advice and were running away from the bridge, and people were asking the people who were running as well, what's going on? because the message had not infiltrated further down, south of the river. so there was a running process away from the scene. and what was going through your mind as all of this unfolded? i think, once i realised that the person had been shot, and then the police came up, telling us to run away, i made the assumption there was some kind of threat that was immediately impacting us right now, so i understood that this was a serious situation and i think everybody else on bus did. there wasn't panic, but there was a clear indication that everybody wanted to get off the bus as quickly as possible.

lloyd g riff lloyd griff is speaking to ben brown earlier. you're watching the bbc news channel and also viewers on bbc world. as we've been hearing, two people have been killed and three people are in hospital in what police have called a terrorist incident on london bridge. at shortly before 2pm this afternoon, armed officers shot dead a man believed to be wearing a hoax explosive device. members of the public had run towards the man, who had a knife, and restrained him until police stepped in. tom edwards reports on how events unfolded. this footage showed what appeared to be ordinary londoners again tackling a terrorist on london bridge. 0fficers intervened. it happened on the north side of the thames. two years ago, london bridge was the scene of a terrorist attack. there appeared to be a fight

going on on the other side of the bridge, with several men attacking one man. police arrived, including armed police, and then a number of shots were fired at this man. from the top of a bus, here, a man with a blue tie, is seen running from the incident with what looks like a knife in his hand. we won't show it, but moments later an armed officer opens fire. i heard a lot more gunshots, and then people started to run off the bridge... just before two o'clock, it started, phone footage taken from nearby offices shows crowds fleeing from london bridge. here, schoolchildren are seen running down the street. as emergency services were quickly on the scene. within the space of about 20 seconds, we heard gunshots. there were people in the cafe opposite, the police open the doors,

everybody sprinted out. all at once, it was very panicky. but they got everybody out of the area pretty quick. as a major incident was declared, here footage shows police confronting a white lorry on the bridge. as they put in a large exclusion zone pretty quickly. clearly they dealt with this pretty quickly. an eyewitness told me that shots were fired. that individual seems to be already down on the bridge when that happened, the eyewitness told me. two and a half hours after the incident, police confirmed a man was shot dead at the scene, and a number of people were injured. this family was one of many caught up in the chaos. the restaurant owners were just, like, come in, come in, they switched all of the lights off, the lights in the kitchen went

off, and we were told to get on the floor. from sitting, just enjoying a meal, to that so quickly, obviously, it was quite scary for all of us. this was the day terror again came to london bridge. again, it seems, londoners stop this attack are becoming much worse. the mayor of london has given a statement on the incident, in which he paid tribute to the emergency services and members of the public who he said risked their own safety this afternoon. he reminded the public to stay vigilant. what's remarkable about the images we've seen is the breathtaking heroism of members of the public, who literally ran towards danger, not knowing what confronted them. we do know from the statements given by the assistant commissioner, neil basu, that there appears to have been a device on the suspect. members of the public didn't realise at the time that was a hoax device,

and they really are the best of us. another example of the bravery and heroism of ordinary londoners, running towards danger, risking their own personal safety, to try and save others. i would like to say thank you to them on behalf of all londoners and also because it shows the best of us. can i ask you, you're outside scotland yard again, just a few years after you did this four times. how does that affect you personally, as mayor of a city where the terrorism threat seems to have not gone down? i'm mayor of the greatest city in the world and one of our strengths is our diversity. but we do know there are people out there who hate our diversity, hate what we stand for, and seek to divide us. what was amazing about today as that we saw in one individual, the suspect, the worst of humanity, but we also saw the response from members of the public and also our emergency services, the very best of humanity.

the message i want to send notjust a londoners, not just to the visitors to our city, but around the world, is we are resolute, we stand united in the face of terrorism and will not allow anybody to divide us. what do you feel as mayor, when you get that call and hear about another incident this serious? i know from talking to colleagues around the world, mayors of other great cities, we are all targets for terrorists. the fact is, since the incidents of 2017, because of the excellent work of the police and security services and intelligence provided by members of the public, we've thwarted more than 20 attempts at terrorism on innocent citizens. sadiq khan speaking earlier. with just under two weeks to go to the general election, the conservatives, labour and the liberal democrats have paused campaigning following this afternoon's events. earlier, the prime minister gave this statement from downing street. i've just been briefed

by the commissioner and assistant commissioner of the metropolitan police about the events at london bridge this afternoon. while this is an ongoing investigation, the police can confirm that this was a terrorist incident. clearly, my thoughts are first with the emergency services, the police, the bravery that they've shown in going towards danger, as they do. i also want to pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery of those members of the public who physically intervened to protect the lives of others. for me, they represent the very best of our country and i thank them on behalf of all our country. i think we're all very saddened, also, to learn that some people have been injured in this event, and our sympathies are very much with them and with their loved ones.

clearly, the metropolitan police are continuing their investigations, and i can assure you and assure everyone that anybody involved in this crime and these attacks, will be hunted down and brought to justice. i think the message that we send to them and anyone associated with this type of attack is one that will be familiar, and that is that this country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack. and our values, our british values, will prevail. prime minister, have you learned more from your briefings with senior officers about the suspects and the background to this incident, whether or not you're able to share that with us now? there is a certain amount that the police are able to share with us at the moment, but it is not yet entirely clear and they're not at a stage

where it's possible to go public. but what i will say is that here at number 10 we will continue to have meetings and consultations are the evening goes on. is it your understanding that the immediate danger from this has passed with the killing of this suspect? to the best of our knowledge, the incident has been contained. i pay tribute, again, to the work of the police and emergency services in what they've done. i would urge everybody, of course, to be vigilant, and one cannot help but think back to what happened in 2017, in the same part of the city. i hope that people will be able, as fast as possible, to go about their normal business. and finally, this happened in the middle of a general election campaign, will campaigning continue as normal? i obviously have stopped my

campaigning for this evening, but we will be reviewing the matter the matter in the course of the next few hours. borisjohnson has since convened cobra committee. labour leaderjeremy corbyn has responded to the london bridge attack. shocked, deeply shocked by what has happened. because people have died asa happened. because people have died as a result of this and police officers put them self in harm's way to try and protect the public, as did other members of the public. and i think we have to show respect to all of those. but it's also about an attack on all of us. and today, we've suspended all labour party campaigning in london for the rest of the day, as soon as it became

apparent how enormous this attack is. but we have to remember that we live in a democratic society and those that would seek to silence us will not succeed. 0ur democracy must be alive and vibrant and, in memory of those that have died today, as a result of this awful attack, are you think we have to ensure we build a society of communities coming together, of respect for each other, and that our democratic way of life must always be protected. we can talk to peter power, a former met police officer with the anti—terrorism branch and author of the uk government's guide book, preventing chaos in a crisis. thank you for speaking to us this evening. chaos in a crisis, what did you make of the scenes as to how events at london bridge were controlled today? as we heard a

numerous commentator speaking, particularly the mayor of london, we can take them as both good and bad. bad being the perpetrator and the good being the responders. but we can't just good being the responders. but we can'tjust dine out on that, we can i purchase a london will stand united. there is something like 104 recommendations after the 2017 terrorist attacks, which included, of those 104 recommendations, around 85 by the start of this year had been completed. these mainly centred on the idea that m15 should share much more of the intelligence, even with private security companies. and i think we debate in the days and weeks to come, how much of those lessons have been learned? we can't go on saying this is another wake—up call — though i have not heard that a great deal. from the police point of view, they're obliged to treat every terrorist incident at the start of

several unless it's proved to the contrary. and we know that, since 2017, 22 attacks have been foiled, several of them actually from far right extremists. there has been a lot of talk, speculation at the moment, of course, that this may well have been a lone actor. what's the security definition of a lone actor and what of the warning signs, the red flags? we often hear about lone wolf actors, but in my experience there is in fact no such thing. i've never come across an individual who's acted so in isolation that nothing, no footprints, no clue, had been left behind. he may have been spoken to people in a mosque, in a gathering elsewhere, or gone online with the huge amount of material that m15 will continue to be monitoring, but

will continue to be monitoring, but will be some footprint left behind. it is never left totally alone. a member of the family may be aware. after the 2005 attacks, all those yea rs after the 2005 attacks, all those years ago, a yougov poll found out something like 100,000 people of a particular faith actually thought those attacks were fully justified. so the real problem now is actually to persuade the communities where this man lived to come forward. that's the biggest challenge in my opinion facing the security services, as they probably hold the information. on the subject of the community, we heard a leader after leader speaking this evening saying the public needs to be vigilant. with your background, what exactly does vigilant mean to a member of the public? what you would be looking for? going back to few days, the threat level was reduced from severe to substantial, in other words, reduced from an event like

this being highly likely tojust likely. i asked myself, when that was announced on the bbc, what does that mean to most people? quite frankly, nothing. most people still go to london, i see experience of this very frequently. but being vigilant, i heard talk some years ago of be prepared, but don't be alarmed. what does that mean? actually, nothing. we are dealing with people who are terrorist now, posing threats with low—tech weapons, in other words, a nice, posing threats with low—tech weapons, in otherwords, a nice, a car, something like that. these people invariably can and do slip beneath the radar screen because they are not using sophisticated weapons like a bomb made of fertiliser or something along those lines. it's very difficult to be prescriptive. people may have been quite frightened, frankly, because i think on many occasions, they see something, they're alarmed about it,

but the fear of breaching political correctness, they often go no further because they don't want to be demonised as somehow being thought of racist because a person looks a certain and that concerns them at. thank you for your time. we are going to bring it up—to—date with an event happening in the netherlands. three people, according to dutch police, three people have been injured. the attack took place ona been injured. the attack took place on a shopping street in the hague. the incident could have taken place inside a department store. confirmation there is something we are waiting for. but we do know, according to the police, they are searching for a male attacker aged

between 45 and 50. implying, then, that this is an active scene, he is still at large. you can see the cord on there that has been set up. you can see members of the public also behind that cordon, and there were pictures of police on the scene. we don't know the condition of the injured or the motive. more as and when we get it. an election debate has been taking place this evening on the bbc. representatives of seven major political parties have been taking part. 0ur political correspondent, jonathan blake is there. they have been speaking, please take us through what has been said. an hourand a us through what has been said. an hour and a half's debate between the seven parties here in cardiff.

it was, to begin with, a relatively sombre and stilted tone, i think, in large part due to the event in london bridge which we have been reporting on this evening. all the party leaders or senior figures who are here taking part in the debate offered their thoughts to those affected, and reflected on the serious nature of tonight's events. because of that, it was possibly a bit less muted and less lively than it would have been. that said, there was plenty of debate on the key issues, probably the most passionate section of the debate was on the nhs, and on the economy, and on brexit, as well. borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn weren't taking part in this debate. the chief secretary of the treasury was there, and rebecca long—bailey was there for labour. we saw a rerun of the party's main campaign messages in this election campaign messages in this election

campaign so far tonight. labour attacking the conservatives over their criticism and claim the nhs would be part of a us trade deal with the uk after brexit. the conservatives coming back to labour, and criticising them for their scope and criticising them for their scope and scale of their spending plans being not credible, as they see it. and for the smaller parties, particularly the greens and plaid cymru, it was a chance for them to get their messages and policies across on a national stage, and tempt across on a national stage, and te m pt vote rs across on a national stage, and tempt voters away from the main parties. there were some light moments. some laughter. and some serious sections. let's have a look back at some of the key highlights. that we can remain in the european union and have more money to spend on improving your life right now, boris johnson's rotten on improving your life right now, borisjohnson's rotten deal will not get it done, it's just the start of yea rs more get it done, it's just the start of years more wrangling.” get it done, it's just the start of years more wrangling. i want a government that is on your side, not a government that stands by while too many families are struggling to

make ends meet. we all want to move on. and with your support we can do exactly that. we want wales to remain in the european union, but one thing we don't want to remain in is poverty. this really matters, not just brexit, but what kind of society we want to be. with brexit done properly we have an amazing future, and that is why i am here. what guarantee is can you give these spending plans will be delivered when you get into government? we've probably outlined the most detailed ma nifesto probably outlined the most detailed manifesto of all of the parties with a grey book sitting alongside it detailing our costs, our tax receipts, and how we will fund those proposals going forward. under the conservatives, and our fully costed plans, the national debt at the end of the parliament will be lower. now, all of that would be put at risk by what we have heard from labour's reckless spending plans.

how do those of you here this evening feel about a second referendum or revoking article 50? is there anybody who thinks things are going well for our country? it's are going well for our country? it's a mess. it's a mess because in 2016 they were not straightforward about what it would mean. the deal boris johnson has negotiated, i think a bad deal, is only a withdrawal deal. the trade talks haven't started. if they don't conclude quickly then we will very soon, next year, face another "no deal" cliff edge, and that would be catastrophic. the conservatives have promised three times, they have failed three times, the brexit party ensures that the wishes of 17.4 million people will be respected. a second referendum would be a disaster for trust and democracy in this country. many of my students rate climate change as one of their top priorities. they have been involved in strikes. what changes would you propose which would help them see the immediate change they want to see?”

would help them see the immediate change they want to see? i would say that they have already changed things. never believe they are not making a difference. the fact parliament has declared a climate emergency is because of the pressure from young people. we could pass a clean air act. the welsh labour government could do it here. we've taken it to court, there are 200 people who die unnecessarily in this city alone because of pollution. we could do that now. that is just the flavour of the debate here in cardiff. the seven way debate between parties, now less than two weeks away from polling day on the 12th of december. there were some familiar themes and familiar subjects there, no real standout knockout blows for either party. familiar arguments are to be between labour and the conservatives, but nothing necessary to shift the dial in this election campaign, and that is possibly due to the fact that tonight's debate has been overshadowed by the attack in london bridge. nevertheless, an hour and a

half of considered and at times detailed debate on the policies in this general election campaign, and plenty for voters to think about. thanks very much. you are watching bbc news. we can listen to an eyewitness of events today at london bridge. karen bosch told us what she saw. i was on the number 21 bus, around two o'clock, coming southbound on to london bridge. we had just pulled away from the bus stop on the very north side of the bridge and we noticed people running across the road, looking over their shoulder, filming over their shoulder, sort of running into the street. the bus stopped quite suddenly. we all looked to see what was going on. 0n the right side, so, on the other side pavement, there was sort of a tussle

or a fight. people in darkjackets sort of fighting with each other. the next thing i noticed was they were three policemen and one very tall man in a black jacket with a beard who, next thing i saw, was on the ground. i saw the three police officers had guns and i heard two pops. i also saw a spent taser. i presume they were gunshots, but i don't know. when he was lying on the floor, after the pops, he sort of pulled his jacket back, and you could see underneath there was some sort of vest. whether it was a stab vest, or an explosive vest, and at that point the police officers really backed away. i was really scared at this point, of course, because we were about as close as the police officers in our bus. after the pops he was lying there alive. he showed he had the desired effect of the police backing off

and they were not shooting any more, but for us it was terrifying because even though he was lying on the floor he could still have damaged us. the bus had stopped. we were only a few metres away. if something happened, i was with my baby. i moved the baby as quickly as i could. so if anything happened, she was a bit protected away from the window, away from the side of the bus. i just wanted to get the baby away from there as quickly as possible. although, the quickest thing would be to get off the bus, but you don't know how many people are out there, what's going on, there could be more than one attacker, so staying put seemed to be the safest thing for the baby. but i could have may be run quickly by myself.

i thought, stay put, may be the bus could drive us a little bit further away. ijust wanted to get her as far away as quickly as possible. i've been around london bridge ten years, well, all of the three attacks now, i've been nearby, in the vicinity. as a medical doctor i normally want to get close and help, but with the baby your instincts change, you want to get as far away as quickly as possible. let's remind you of another incident taking place in the netherlands. several people have been injured in a stabbing attack on a shopping street in the hague. the incident reportedly happened inside a department store and police are searching for a male perpetrator aged between 45 and 50, according to local reports. the condition of those injured and the motive for the attack remain unclear. they are looking for, they say, a slightly dark skinned man wearing jogging slightly dark skinned man wearing

jogging bottoms. this all took place ata time jogging bottoms. this all took place at a time when there were many black friday shoppers on the streets. more on this as we get it, of course. you are watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather, with helen willetts. it has been much drier today. there has been a good deal of sunshine. under starry skies temperatures are falling away. we are in for a drier weather for the weekend, but some very cold night and with a risk of fog. let's look at where we've had showers today, may be northern and eastern areas, still a few in the south and west. where services are damp, with temperatures already getting to below freezing in some places, it means that the ice risk is pretty high. —— mega surfaces are damp. elsewhere, more mist, and

dense fog by morning. it looks like the fog will be more widespread than last night because temperatures will bea last night because temperatures will be a couple of degrees lower again, meaning the frost will be harder. it's much further south, as you can see. that means tomorrow morning, as well as being cold and freezing, we could have fog. freezing fog. treacherous of all road users. be crossing england and wales. this gives you an idea of how widespread we are expecting that fog to be. visibility down to 50 metres in some places. the wind strengthening in the south will lift to low cloud. but in some areas, the east midlands, lincolnshire, it could stay with freezing fog for much of the day, so it will be very cold. and with the strengthening wind and further cloud further south, it will feel quite cold here, too. for others, dry, some sunshine, it won't be particularly warm, the showers over the east coast will continue, particularly for north—east scotland. this cloud is coming to the south and west, some patchy

drizzle, possibly stretching into the of wales. through the night, it'll slip east, and possibly bring inafew it'll slip east, and possibly bring in a few showers over other eastern parts of england. through sunday, it moves away, and the high pressure re—establishes itself again. by then, showers mostly in northern and eastern areas, more for eastern england, perhaps, and in east anglia, without wind making things feel really cold. elsewhere, northern ireland, and scotland, it'll feel very cold with this circulating wind. we keep this settle down cold weather as we go into the start of next week, temperatures well below average. at this stage, no sign of any appreciable rain. the warnings are on the website.

looks a certain and that concerns

them at. thank you for your time. this is bbc world news today, i'm lewis vaughan jones, our top stories. two people were stabbed to death in central london, people say this was a terrorist attacks on the suspect was shot dead. the empty ideology of terror offers nothing but hatred. today i urge everyone to reject that. police say the suspect was wearing a hoax suicide vest. there was a tussle or a fight, people and darkjackets fighting with each other, and one very tall man with a jacket and a beard, dark?, the next thing i saw, he was

on the grounds and the