PM May: UK General Election to Proceed on June 8 Despite London Attack

LONDON (Sputnik) — The upcoming UK general election will proceed on Thursday as planned despite Saturday's terror attack in London, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday.

"As a mark of respect, two political parties have suspended our national campaigns for today, but violence can never be allowed to disrupt the democratic process, so those campaigns will resume in full tomorrow, and the election will go ahead as planned on Thursday," May said, broadcast on UK television, in a statement following an emergency cabinet meeting.

On June 3, at 22:08 PM local time (21:08 GMT), a vehicle struck pedestrians on London Bridge. The vehicle with three suspects continued to drive from London Bridge to Borough Market, after which the suspects left the vehicle and carried out a stabbing attack at the market. The attackers were confronted by the police and shot dead within minutes.

According to the local authorities, at least seven people were killed and 48 more injured. UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack.

The general election in the United Kingdom is expected to be held on Thursday.

Recent terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom are not directly connected, and the country's police have managed to prevent five terrorist plots since March, according to May.

"This is, as we all know, the third terrorist attack Britain has experienced in the last three months… And at the same time the security and intelligence agencies and police have disrupted five credible plots since the Westminster attack in March. In terms of their planning the execution, the recent attacks are not connected," May said.

The prime minister also called on the international community to work out agreements which will regulate cyberspace with the aim to prevent the spread of extremist ideology.

"We need to work with allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent spread of extremist and terrorist planning. And we need to everything at home to reduce the risks of extremism online," May added.

On March 22, an attacker identified as Khalid Masood, drove his car into pedestrians on the Westminster Bridge in the city’s center. He then left the car, armed with a knife, and attempted to enter the Parliament building. The attack left five people dead, including the attacker, and at least 50 people injured.

On May 22, a deadly blast occurred outside of the Manchester Arena at the end of US singer Ariana Grande's concert, killing 22 people and injuring over 120. The police identified 22-year-old Salman Abedi as the individual they suspect of having perpetrated the attack and conduct investigation into a suspected terrorist network behind the incident. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.

"We need to review Britain's counterterrorism strategy to make sure that the police and security services have all powers they need, and if we need to increase the length of custodial sentences for terrorism related offenses even apparently less serious offenses that is what we will do," May said.