London terror attack: Terrorists wore fake suicide vests, police say

Image shows two men lying on the ground after having reportedly been shot by the police in what is believed to be linked to terrorist attacks in the centre of London (Gabriele Sciotto)

Six people have died and at least 20 have been injured in a terrorist attack in London Bridge and Borough Market in the capital, the country's leading anti-terror officer has said.

Here is Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley's statement outside New Scotland Yard in full:

"Since late yesterday evening, Saturday June 3, the Metropolitan Police has been responding to incidents in the London Bridge and Borough Market areas of London.

"We are treating this as a terrorist incident and a full investigation is already under way, led by London's Counter Terrorism Command.

"You will understand that our knowledge of the incident is still growing but at the moment what we understand is as follows:

"At 10.08pm last night we began to receive reports that a vehicle had struck pedestrians on London Bridge.

"The vehicle continued to drive from London Bridge to Borough Market.

"The suspects left the vehicle attempting to stab a number of people, including an on-duty British Transport Police officer who was responding to the incident. He received serious injuries, fortunately not life-threatening. His family has been informed.

"Armed response officers then responded very quickly and bravely and confronted the three male suspects who were shot and killed in Borough Market.

"The suspects had been confronted and shot by the police within eight minutes of the first call. The suspects were wearing what looked like explosive vests but these were later established to be hoaxes.

"The ongoing operation is led by the Met, working closely with British Transport Police, City of London Police, the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade.

"At this stage, we believe that sadly six people have died in addition to the three attackers shot by police. And there are at least 20 casualties taken to six hospitals across London but numbers are still rising.

"I'd like to repeat our request for Londoners to avoid the areas of London Bridge and Borough Market to enable the emergency services to continue this operation.

"This investigation, as I've said, is led by the Counter Terrorism Command and we'd ask for help from the public in the following way.

"Anybody who has got any images or film from the incident tonight, perhaps people in the area, they can help police by uploading it at http://www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.

"Of course, our thoughts are with those who are involved and those who are concerned about loved ones in the area. They should contact our Casualty Bureau which is open on 0800 0961 233.

"Looking forward, we are of course reviewing our plans for policing stance across London and over forthcoming days, people can expect to see more police resources across the capital.

"Finally, I would ask the public to be vigilant and contact the police if they've got any concerns."