Mr Johnson says there will continue to be meetings and consultations inside Number 10 as the evening goes on, but that "to the best of our knowledge the incident has been contained".

He urges people to be "vigilant" but adds: "I hope very much that people will be able as fast as possible to go about their normal business."

Asked whether general election campaigning will continue as normal, Mr Johnson says: "Well I’ve obviously stopped my campaigning for this evening but we’ll be reviewing the matter in the course of the next few hours."

Mr Johnson says he is "saddened" to learn some people have been injured in the attack and "our sympathies are very much with them and with their loved ones".

“I can assure everyone that anybody involved in this crime, in these attacks, will be hunted down and will be brought to justice," he says.

“And I think the message that we send to them and anyone associated with this type of attack is one that will be familiar and that is that this country will never be cowed or divided or intimidated by this sort of attack and our values, our British values will prevail.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now giving a statement.

He praises the bravery of the emergency services as well as "the extraordinary bravery of members of the public who physically intervened to protect the lives of others".

“For me they represent the very best of our country and I thank them on behalf of all of our country," he says.

People living near London Bridge have been told to find somewhere else to stay as the police cordon remains in place.

Workers leaving their offices on the south side of the bridge are being directed along Borough High Street. But no one is being allowed to go in the other direction - towards to the scene of the incident.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the cordon would remain in place while searches are carried out to ensure there is no further danger. But officers said it could stay up over the weekend due to "other factors".

Green Party co-leader Sian Berry says the incident shows "Londoners will never allow those desperate to divide us to succeed".

In a statement, she says: "Londoners have once again shown their fortitude in their calm reaction to this horrendous incident. I am so sorry for those injured by the perpetrator of this incident."

Ms Berry says the emergency services "demonstrated their professionalism" and thanked the police for providing reassurance "in the face of an alarming situation".

Footage posted on Twitter showed police grappling with a man on the pavement on London Bridge.

Armed police were also filmed surrounding a white lorry which appeared to have stopped across the bridge.

Speaking a short time ago, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also confirmed a number of people were injured in the attack, some "seriously".

"My heart goes out to them, their families and all those affected," he said.

"As soon as it's possible to provide an update on their condition, the Met Police will do so.

"I'd ask you all to please respect the privacy of those affected."

Tom Symonds
Home Affairs Correspondent

What we have been able to confirm from pieces of video that we think tally with each other – although there’s always a question mark with videos from open media – shows a group of what looks like passers-by holding down a man, and a firearms officer then moving towards this group.

It looks as though he is telling them to get out of the way, to get clear. Then it looks as though a shot is fired, we see a puff of smoke and then man on the ground falls still.

Image source, Reuters

• A man has been shot after a number of people were stabbed near London Bridge
• The dead man was wearing a "hoax explosive device", police say
• Police say "a number of other people" were injured but there is no information about their condition yet
• Videos filmed at the scene showed a group of people holding down a man as a firearms officer approaches, indicating they should get clear. Then a shot appears to be fired
• A wide police cordon remains in the area as police carry out searches "to ensure there is no further threat"
• The incident is being investigated by the Met Police's Counter Terrorism Command, but police say they are keeping on "open mind as to any motive"
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the "immense bravery" of emergency services and the public

Kevin Bate, assistant director of operations at the London Ambulance Service, says: "We were called at 2:02pm today to reports of an incident at London Bridge.

"We sent a number of ambulance crews and specialist response teams, with the first medic arriving on the scene within seven minutes.

"An advanced trauma team from London's Air Ambulance has also been dispatched by air."

Sadiq Khan is also asked how he has been personally affected as Mayor following previous terror incidents in London.

He says: "I'm mayor of the greatest city in the world. One of our strengths is our diversity.

"But we do know that there are people out there who hate our diversity, what we stand for and seek to divide us.

"What is amazing about today is that we saw in one individual, the suspect, the worst of humanity but we also saw in the response from members of the public but also our emergency services the very best of humanity.

"The message I want to send today is that we will not allow anyone to divide us."

The Mayor of London is taking questions now, beginning with a request for further details about members of the public involved in the incident.

He says: "Firstly anybody who took any images of the incident, please share those with police. There's a website set up where you can share those."

[You can find that here, external.]

Sadiq Khan adds: "What's remarkable about the images we've seen is the breathtaking heroism of members of the public who literally ran towards danger not knowing what confronted them.

"I want to say thank you to them on behalf of all Londoners."

Gordon Corera
Security correspondent, BBC News

Image source, AFP

There was no intelligence of anything about to happen, sources say, and police reacted to events as they unfolded.

At the start of this month, the UK threat level was lowered from severe to substantial – reflecting an assessment from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre that an attack was likely rather than highly likely because of a relative decline in activity.

The challenge for police and security services is that low-tech attacks – involving knifes or vehicles – and often carried out by lone actors can be hard to spot in advance since they involve relatively little preparation and communication.

But in the wake of previous incidents in both the UK and other countries, police have been prepared for this kind of incident and seem to have been fast to intervene, taking few chances, although members of the public were also involved in restraining the individual.

The priority for police and MI5 now will be establishing the identity of the individual, whether he had any links or associations and whether there is any ongoing related threat.

The White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere says: "President Trump has been briefed on this morning’s attack at the London Bridge and is monitoring the situation.

"The United States strongly condemns all horrific acts of violence on innocent people, and we pledge our full support to our ally, the United Kingdom."

The BBC's Ben Brown is close to London Bridge, where he says the area is "in lock-down" with streets cordoned off.

"It's quite an eerie sight," he says.

“For people who live and work around London Bridge all of this brings back horrific memories of two years ago."

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is giving a statement now.

He begins by saying that the Met Police has confirmed that the "horrendous" stabbing at London Bridge has been declared as a terrorist incident.

He says he is in close contact with the Met at Scotland Yard.

Mr Khan continues by reiterating information from the Metropolitan Police, including that a male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers by City of London police and died at scene.

He adds: "I want to thank our brave emergency services. Every day they put their lives on the line for us, running towards danger in order to keep us safe.

"I'd also like to thank members of the public who risked their own safety this afternoon, they are the best of us.

"We must and will stand resolute in the face of terror."

BBC Radio 5 Live