UK threat level to remain at severe: May

UK PM Theresa May says police have identified all the London Bridge attackers and that 11 people remain in custody for possible connections to the attack.

British Prime Minister Theresa May

British Prime Minister Theresa May says the terror threat level will remain at "severe". (AAP)

Britain's terror threat level will remain at "severe" after militants killed seven people and injured 48 in London, Prime Minister Theresa May says.

Additional security measures have been put in place, including at several bridges in central London, May said. Three knife-wielding assailants rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby.

"JTAC, the independent joint terrorism analysis centre, have confirmed that the national threat level remains at severe, that means that a terrorist attack is highly likely," she told BBC television after a meeting of the government's emergency committee.

"It is now clear that, sadly, victims came from a number of nationalities. This was an attack on London and the United Kingdom, but it was also an attack on the free world."

May says police have identified all the London Bridge attackers and that 11 people remain in custody for possible connections to the attack.

She also defended cuts to police numbers, stating that the Metropolitan Police is "well resourced" and has "very powerful counter-terrorism capabilities".

May was asked whether she regretted as Home Secretary presiding over cuts that have seen 20,000 fewer police officers on the country's streets, in the wake of Saturday night's attack.

She said: "The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has said that the Met is well resourced, and they are, and that they have very powerful counter-terrorism capabilities and they do.

"We have protected counter terrorism policing budgets, we have also provided funding for an increase in the number of armed police officers and since 2015 we have protected overall police budgets - and that's despite the fact that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party in the House of Commons suggested that police budgets could be cut.

"But it's also about the powers that we give to the police. We have given increased powers to the police to be able to deal with terrorists - powers which Jeremy Corbyn has boasted he has always opposed."


Share
Published 5 June 2017 10:06pm
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world