On Saturday 3 June at approximately 20:08, three men drove a van at speed across London Bridge hitting pedestrians, and subsequently left the vehicle and stabbed a number of people with knives, before being shot dead by police. It has been reported that seven people have been confirmed dead and a further 48 injured.

Executive summary

• The attack continues to dominate news coverage in the UK this morning, as the sole subject across the broadcast news channels. Reporting continues to focus on the events from last night, and reports from eye witnesses, while wider discussion has also turned to UK national security and any possible impact on the General Election. In breaking news, a police operation is underway at a block of flats in Barking, and it is being reported it is in connection with the attack.
• The Prime Minister made a statement at Downing Street, condemning the “single evil ideology of Islamist extremism” that is a “perversion of Islam, and a perversion of the truth”.
• Between 05:00 and 10:00 on 4 June, there have been an estimated 276,000 direct mentions of the attack. Discussion continues to be driven by news events, with the Met Police and BBC and Sky News making up the most popular accounts.
• UK far-right groups and influencers continue to have significant traction on UK social media. Due to the number of retweets she received, Katie Hopkins has been the second most mentioned person in relation to the attack on social media during this period.
• There has been no claim of responsibility from any terrorist group. Daesh released its daily Arabic al-Bayan radio broadcast this morning with no mention of the London attack. Daesh fanboys on Telegram continue to discuss the attack and share material online, including calling for further attacks in the West.
• A number of British Muslim civil society organisations and commentators have roundly condemned the attack on social media, with a particular focus on promoting solidarity in London.

UK Mainstream media

The attack is dominating news coverage in the UK this morning, as the sole subject across the broadcast news channels, including the lunchtime bulletins.

The Prime Minister made a statement at Downing Street, condemning the “single evil ideology of Islamist extremism” that is a “perversion of Islam, and a perversion of the truth”. She also said more needed to be done to tackle terrorism and extremism online, and “safe spaces” both online and in the UK. It was also confirmed the General Election will go ahead as planned.

Reporting continues to focus on the events from last night, and reports from eye witnesses. One of the key issues has also been UK national security in the wake of this and the Manchester attack:

• Speaking on Peston on Sunday on ITV, the Home Secretary said they were “confident” that it was an Islamist terrorist attack and that there is an ongoing operation to find out who the attackers were. She also said the threat level had not risen because there was no evidence there could be ongoing elements of the attack, unlike with the explosives used in Manchester.
• Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick made a public statement, paying tribute to the officers involved, and updating that the death toll had risen to seven. She called on the public to remain calm but vigilant, and gave details of the anti-terrorism hotline for anyone with concerns.
• A number of public figures interviewed on broadcast news have been asked about the potential for the threat level to be raised back to Critical. It has been widely commented, including by David Davis and Sadiq Khan, that the threat level is independently determined by JTAC and based on intelligence.
• Assessing the situation, Frank Gardner noted on BBC News that for “quite some time, senior figures in counter-terrorism have warned it is only a matter of time before a terrorist attack gets through” and that there would be “some tough questions coming out of the COBR”.

Due to the timing of the incident, there has also been speculation about the impact on the General Election, and comments from party leaders:

• It has been reported that all of the major parties have suspended national-level campaigning for the day, aside from UKIP, who said they did not want extremists to disrupt democracy.
• Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also gave a statement to camera, calling it a “dreadful attack” and that the emergency services should be thanked, along with the ordinary people who helped others in the aftermath of the attack.
• Sky News political editor Faisal Islam commented that it does not seem likely that the election campaign will be delayed in light of the attack.

Social media

Between 05:00 and 10:00 on 4 June, there have been an estimated 276,000 direct mentions of the attack. Of these mentions, at least 23% of conversation was geo-linked to the UK, and related conversation also remained high in India making up 5% of overall mentions.

As the topic cloud above reveals, users are showing solidarity for the victims, both through their words and actions. There is particular engagement with news of the Sikh Gurdwaras offering food and shelter to the victims, and users are retweeting individuals’ offers of accommodation. The message of solidarity is strongly resonating (“stand united”), as well as praise of the emergency services, police and NHS.

In addition to allusions to the attacker’s call to Allah, other far-right dialogue infiltrating mainstream conversation includes accusations that the Government is not doing enough to prevent terrorism, with Katie Hopkins’ comment widely resonating: “Do not let them tell you we stand united. Do not let them tell you we carry on as normal. Refuse to be lied to. DEMAND ACTION”. Conversation remains related to the US, as one user’s tweet being widely shared states that “this would be America if Hillary had won”. Furthermore, some individuals are blaming political correctness, open borders, sharia law and weak political leaders as the main factors contributing to the attack.

The most mentioned Twitter users reflect the police’s messages dominating conversation (@metpoliceuk, @terrorismpolice) as well as a continued sharing of news updates, largely from Sky and BBC News. However, due to the number of retweeted she received, Katie Hopkins has been the second most mentioned person in relation to the attack on social media during this period.

British Muslim response

A number of British Muslim civil society organisations and commentators continue to condemn the attack online and in broadcast interviews:

• Appearing on Peston on Sunday on ITV, Baroness Warsi said British Muslims were “furious” about the attack. She also called for “a clear and deliberate programme of punishment and rehabilitation of those returning from Syria”.
• New Horizons in British Islam published a statement condemning the attack, noting that Ramadan is “a blessed time of spiritual reflection Muslims – a fact obviously lost on the monsters that caused this mayhem”.
• Civil society group Faith Matters posted a statement saying that people should remember the victims, and that whilst “London may remain strong and resilient. That does not mean we are weak or complacent as a city. What it means is that it redoubles our joint efforts”
• Mustafa Field of Faiths Forum for London tweeted “London humanity will always come through – Daesh is losing” and “these cowards betrayed us and are traitors to our humanity and to our faith”.
• Anti-Islamophobia campaign group TellMAMA tweeted “The Met police disciplined, determined and very organised in their response. Our police brothers and sisters are in our thoughts”.
• The East London Mosque also issued a statement online, condemning the attack and concluding “London has a long history of diversity and unity. We will not allow these attacks to change that”.
• Moazzam Begg, director of Islamist-supportive group CAGE, tweeted “Killing innocents is not honourable courageous or virtuous. Neither is the more-intended anti-Muslim backlash #LondonBridge”

Terrorist response

At this stage, there has been no claim of responsibility from any terrorist group, including Daesh. The group released its daily Arabic al-Bayan radio broadcast as scheduled this morning, however, there was no mention of the London attack.

However, in unofficial spaces online, Daesh fanboys on Telegram have continued to discuss the attack and share material online. The image below was re-shared by Daesh supporters in the aftermath of the attack, and seeks to make a clear link in supporters’ minds between Ramadan and carrying out attacks.

Far-right responses

UK far right groups and influences quickly took to social media in the aftermath of the attack, seeking to exploit events to further their own narratives.

• Tommy Robinson’s video, criticising the monitoring of terror suspects and promoting his event on 11 June, has seen a large jump in views during the last few hours, with over 110,000 so far.
• Britain First has continued to take aim at Sadiq Khan, posting a tweet he made a number of months ago criticising President Trump’s travel ban and questioning whether he could claim London was safe. Leader Paul Golding also tweeted “The terrorists ARE winning. Everyone is angry and scared. We are not fighting back because of political correctness! #LondonAttacks”.
• The EDL continues to criticise media reporting around the attack, claiming “The BBC have over 5,000 words on their website about last night’s jihadist attack. Not one of those words is Muslims”. It has also reported on Twitter that its Facebook page has been removed this morning.
• Katie Hopkins continues to post tweets around the attack, including one from before the Prime Minister’s speech: “Theresa May. Do not stand there and tell us terror will not win, If this is terror losing I don’t think victory matters”.
• Users on the UK section of the extreme right-wing forum Stormfront have discussed the attack, expressing disdain for those saying they should carry on with life as normal. They were also strongly critical of mainstream reporting around the attack. However, both of these frustrations were not as strong as following the Manchester attack, as users seemed resigned to these attacks happening in the West.