London’s mayor has paid tribute to members of the emergency services who “ran towards danger”, as he marked the fifth anniversary of the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack.
Sadiq Khan said the capital’s residents will “always stand united in the face of terrorism” as he remembered the victims of the atrocity that took place on June 3, 2017.
Eight people were killed and 48 injured when terrorists ploughed into pedestrians in a hired van then went on a rampage with 12-inch knives.
Christine Archibald, 30, and Xavier Thomas, 45, died after being struck by the van on the bridge.
Alexandre Pigeard, 26, Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, and James McMullan, 32, were stabbed near the Boro Bistro on the South Bank.
Ignacio Echeverria, 39, died as he tried to protect others from being attacked on nearby Borough High Street.
Ringleader Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were confronted in Stoney Street and shot dead by police marksmen.
On Friday morning, Mr Khan tweeted: “Today, London remembers those whose lives were taken during the 2017 London Bridge terror attack. We also pay tribute to the bravery of our emergency services, who ran towards danger whilst helping others to safety.
“Londoners will always stand united in the face of terrorism.”
Counter-terror expert Sir Ivor Roberts said it remains “unclear how much has been learned from this tragedy”.
Sir Ivor, from the Counter Extremism Project and former head of counter-terrorism in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said the attack could be attributed “in significant part, to the failure of the intelligence community to monitor appropriately subjects of interest”.
In a statement on the anniversary, he said the attack could be attributed to the failure of the intelligence community to "monitor appropriately subjects of interest".
“The primary perpetrator of the attack, Khuram Shazad Butt, was known to both the police and MI5 from as early as 2015. At that time he was investigated, but the investigation was quickly ‘moved into the lower echelons’ and his file was classed as ‘low priority’," he said.
“While the monitoring of peripheral subjects like Butt can often be a tedious and thankless task, it is also often the difference between life and death."
Sir Ivor said the government’s subsequent inquiries identified this as an area of counter terror policy in need of "significant reform".
He referred to the case of Malik Faisal Akram, originally from Blackburn in Lancashire, who carried out an attack on a Texas synagogue in January.
Akram, 44, was shot dead when the FBI entered the place of worship in Colleyville following a 10-hour stand-off.
He held four people hostage during the incident, but they were later released unharmed.
