Nation to fall silent to remember victims of London terror attack

Communities are set to pay tribute to victims of the London terror attack tomorrow.
Flags are flying at half mast outside of Hartlepool Civic Centre.Flags are flying at half mast outside of Hartlepool Civic Centre.
Flags are flying at half mast outside of Hartlepool Civic Centre.

A national one-minute silence is to be held at 11am in remembrance of the victims of Saturday night's events.

Seven people were killed and 48 were injured when terrorists drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people in Borough Market.

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South Tyneside Council, Hartlepool Borough Council, Sunderland City Council and Durham County Council have all confirmed they will take part in the silence, while their flags will fly at half-mast.

All of the region's police forces will also be participating.

The incidents in London came less than two weeks after the bombing at Manchester Arena, which left 22 people dead.

Northumbria Police assistant chief constable Darren Best said: "Our thoughts are currently with the people affected by last night's attack in London, particularly the families of the seven people killed during the incident.

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"We understand that people here in Northumbria will be concerned about these most recent events. At present there is no change to the national threat level which remains at 'severe'.

"We also want to stress that there is still nothing to suggest any specific threat to our communities here in Northumbria.

"We have significantly increased the number of armed officers we have available to us here in Northumbria and that has allowed us to create an extremely hostile environment to any would-be terrorists.

"Those visible armed patrols have been in place since last year and they will continue following this most recent incident in areas with high numbers of people, such as the city centres and our transport hubs.

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"They are there to reassure any members of the public concerned about security in our force area. There will be an increase in foot patrols by unarmed officers across the force to provide visible reassurance.

"Following the attacks in Westminster and Manchester we urged local communities to come together and to support each other. We want to echo that message again today.

"I also want to pay tribute to the incredible response of the Met Police and the other emergency services in London last night. Our thoughts are with them at this time as they continue to investigate this atrocity.

"We would encourage anyone who sees anything suspicious or who has any concerns to report them immediately to police on 101, by calling the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 or by visiting gov.uk/ACT."