London’s resolve against terrorism has never been stronger, Theresa May has said, ahead of a national minute’s silence to commemorate the victims of the London Bridge attack.
The words #LondonUnited will be projected onto the bridge on Sunday, marking the one-year anniversary of an atrocity which left eight innocent people dead.
Dozens more were injured during the June 3 violence when a terrorist trio drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge, before stabbing revellers in the nearby Borough Market with 12-inch ceramic knives.
Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were shot dead by police just eight minutes after the first emergency call was made.
A service of commemoration will be held at Southwark Cathedral this afternoon to remember those who died and were hurt, and honour the emergency services’ response to the attack.
Candles will be lit by relatives of the victims during the private ceremony, before an olive tree – known as the Tree of Healing – is planted in the cathedral grounds using compost from floral tributes left on the bridge in the aftermath of the murders last year.
A procession from the cathedral to Southwark Needle, at the corner of London Bridge and Duke Street Hill, will take place following the ceremony, and a minute’s silence will be held at 4.30pm.
Ahead of the day’s commemorative events, the Prime Minister recalled the “stories of courage” which emerged from the attack.
She described it as a “cowardly attempt to strike at the heart of our freedoms by deliberately targeting people enjoying their Saturday night with friends and family”.
Messages of support were left near London Bridge after the attack in June last year (Nick Ansell/PA)
Mrs May said: “Today we remember those who died and the many more who were injured, and also pay tribute to the bravery of our emergency services and those who intervened or came to the aid of others.
“The many stories of courage demonstrated that night will always stay with me – such as Ignacio Echeverria, who died after confronting the terrorists with the only thing he had, his skateboard, and Geoff Ho, who spent almost two weeks in hospital after being stabbed in the neck as he shielded his friends.”
Those killed in the attack were Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, Frenchmen Alexandre Pigeard, 26, Sebastien Belanger, 36 and Xavier Thomas, 45, Australians Kirsty Boden, 28 and Sara Zelenak 21, and Spaniard Ignacio Echeverria, 39.
Mrs May said the range of nationalities was “a reflection of our great cosmopolitan capital, whose energy and values brings together people from across the world, and a tragic reminder that the threat from terrorism transcends borders and impacts us all”.
A Tree of Healing will be planted in the grounds of Southwark Cathedral (Katie Collins/PA)
She added: “My message to those who seek to target our way of life or try to divide us is clear – our resolve to stand firm and overcome this threat together has never been stronger.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the city would honour the victims of terror attacks “through our actions and standing united against terrorism and in hope for the future”.
He said: “Our city faced some incredibly difficult times last year, with the terrorist attacks in Westminster, London Bridge, Finsbury Park and Parsons Green.
“The cowardly terrorists who commit these horrific acts do so to try to divide us, to fuel fear and to change how we treat one another. I’m proud of the way we have responded: standing united in defiance and staying true to our values and way of life.”
The Dean of Southwark, The Very Revd Andrew Nunn, who will host the service of commemoration, said the Tree of Healing will be “a constant reminder to us all of those who were harmed but also of the importance of our communities coming together to stand against violence in all its forms”.
A digital book of hope will be available at Southwark Cathedral throughout the weekend for the public to sign.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here