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UK prepares to mourn on London Bridge attack anniversary
LONDON, June 3, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Britain will hold a national minute of
silence on Sunday, one year on from the London Bridge terror attack that
killed eight people and injured dozens more.
Flowers will be laid, candles lit and a religious service held at Southwark
Cathedral — the spot where three men in a van crashed after careening into
crowds, before launching a stabbing spree at nearby Borough Market.
“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,” said Prime Minister Theresa May.
She branded the June 3 attack “a cowardly attempt to strike at the heart of
our freedoms by deliberately targeting people enjoying their Saturday night
with friends and family” and noted that seven of the victims were foreign
nationals.
“This is 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,” she
said.
On Sunday morning Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that a new review of
counter-terrorism legislation in Britain would be launched on Monday —
including a provision to recruit up to 2,000 extra security officers in
Britain’s intelligence services.
“One of the other announcements I’ll be making tomorrow is that MI5 will be
sharing much more of its information with other organisations,” he said on
the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.
“Not just with counter terrorism police but neighbourhood police, with
local government… to make sure that there is a much higher chance of
finding some of these extremists and disrupting plots a lot earlier on.”
Later on Sunday the words #LondonUnited will be projected onto the bridge
following a minute of silence scheduled for 4:30 pm (1530GMT).
Candles will be lit by relatives of the victims during the 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.
– Preparations –
Among those visiting the cathedral for the service on the south bank of the
Thames, set to include a procession to the bridge, will be Frenchwoman
Christine Delcros, 46.
She was seriously injured in the vehicle-ramming attack whilst her partner
Xavier Thomas, 45, was killed, with his body later recovered from the River
Thames.
“On the psychological level, the wounds are invisible, but they are the
most serious,” she told AFP in an interview this week.
“I remain traumatised by the loss of the love of my life, in circumstances
beyond my comprehension.”
On Saturday preparations for the ceremony were underway with cleaners
working on the bridge — now fitted with anti-vehicle crash barriers to
prevent cars and vans from mounting the pavement.
On Friday PC Wayne Marques, who took on the three attackers solo with his
baton and was stabbed in the head, revealed he was planning to return to work
next month after a year of rehabilitation.
“I’m just basically trying to get as much of me back as possible,” he said
in a video released by the British Transport Police.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who will attend the ceremony, said the city
would honour the victims “through our actions and standing united against
terrorism and in hope for the future”.
“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,” he said in a statement.
The attackers were shot dead outside Borough Market eight minutes after the
first emergency call was made.
The Islamic State (IS) jihadist group claimed responsibility for the
attack, one in a six-month campaign of atrocities that swept Britain last
year, claiming a total of 35 lives.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1550 hrs