London attack: Family pays tribute to 'beautiful daughter'

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Sara Zelenak
Image caption,

Australian Sara Zelenak was working in London

The family of London attack victim Sara Zelenak have paid tribute to their "beautiful daughter and sister," as police say the death toll from Saturday's attacks has risen to eight.

Relatives of the 21-year-old Australian, an au pair, said they were "deeply saddened at the tragic loss".

All of those who died have now been named.

Earlier, police searching for French national Xavier Thomas, 45, said they had recovered a body from the Thames.

Scotland Yard said the body was pulled from the river near Limehouse at 19:44 BST on Tuesday.

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Xavier Thomas was listed as missing after being on London Bridge at the time of the attack

Mr Thomas's next of kin have been told, police said, but formal identification has not yet taken place.

Meanwhile, the prime minister of Spain said Ignacio Echeverría, 39, who died defending a woman with his skateboard, should be given a posthumous award - the Silver Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.

Mr Echeverría was from Madrid and was working for HSBC bank in London.

Another victim was named as Sebastien Belanger, from France.

Mr Belanger worked at the Coq d'Argent near Bank. He had been watching the Champions League final football match with friends at a nearby pub before the attack.

The others killed in the attack have been named as Australian Kirsty Boden, Canadian national Chrissy Archibald, James McMullan, from Hackney, London, and French national Alexandre Pigeard.

NHS England said 29 patients remain in London hospitals, with 10 in a critical condition.

Image source, Unknown/Met Police
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Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba have been named as the London Bridge attackers

Police have named Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Moroccan-Italian man who lived in east London, Khuram Butt, 27, from Barking, and Rachid Redouane, 30, who also lived in Barking, as the men who carried out the attack.

They drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in Borough Market.

Redouane's ex-wife, Charisse O'Leary, said she was "deeply shocked, saddened and numbed" by his actions.

"My thoughts and efforts now are with trying to bring up my daughter with the knowledge that, someday, I will have to try and explain to her why her father did what he did."

Speaking at her house in Bologna, Italy, Zaghba's mother told the BBC she believed her son was radicalised in the UK.

She said he was under surveillance when he was in Italy and questioned why this was not the case in the UK.

An Italian police source confirmed to the BBC that Zaghba had been placed on a watch list, which is shared with many countries, including the UK.

In March 2016, Italian officers stopped Zaghba at Bologna airport and found IS-related materials on his mobile phone. He was then stopped from continuing his journey to Istanbul.

The BBC understands he was not prosecuted but was listed on the Schengen Information System, an EU-wide database which includes details of potential suspects.

When Zaghba entered Britain, staff at passport control should automatically have been alerted by the Schengen system, BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said.

"One unconfirmed report suggests that did happen, apparently when Zaghba arrived at Stansted Airport in January - but that border staff still let him in," he said.

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Police have made an arrest at a house in Ilford, east London

A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of terror offences as detectives raided an address in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, detectives arrested two more men in Ilford - aged 27 and 29 - on suspicion of the preparation of terrorist acts.

On Tuesday a 27-year-old man was arrested in Barking on Tuesday in connection with the investigation.

A man was arrested in Limerick, in the Irish Republic, on Tuesday over the discovery of ID documents in Redouane's name. He was later released without charge.

A second man, who is in his 30s, was arrested on Tuesday evening, with the Garda saying it was also related to Redouane. He is being held in Wexford.