Sadiq Khan has said the London Bridge attackers do not speak for Muslims, telling a vigil to those killed: “Not in my name”.
Khan, the first elected Muslim mayor of a European city, called the three men who killed seven people and injured 48 in their rampage on Saturday “sick and evil” as he addressed the vigil in Potters Field Park.
“Your perverse ideology has nothing to do with the true values of Islam,” he said.
He spoke shortly after the second victim was named and police identified two of the three terrorists as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, both from Barking, east London.
Addressing the crowd on Monday evening just a short walking distance from where the attacks took place, Khan said: “As the mayor of London I want to send a clear message to the sick and evil extremists who commit these hideous crimes. We will defeat you. You will not win.
“And as a proud a patriotic British Muslim I say this: You do not commit these disgusting acts in my name.”
He also said the emergency services and those who fought to save lives in the attack were “the best of us”.
Khan’s short speech was followed by a minute’s silence. He also laid flowers alongside Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.
Khan’s speech in full:
“We stand together tonight to honour the memories of the innocent lives lost and people injured in the barbaric attack in our city on Saturday night. London stands in defiance against this cowardly attack on our city, our people, our values and our way of life.
“As the mayor of London, I want to send a clear message to the sick and evil extremists who commit these hideous crimes. We will defeat you. You will not win.
“And as a proud a patriotic British Muslim I say this: You do not commit these disgusting acts in my name.”
“Your perverse ideology has nothing to do with the true values of Islam. You will never succeed in dividing our city. Today, we mourn the loss of innocent lives, Londoners and people from around the world. We send our love to the victims’ families and all those who were injured. We thank our courageous emergency services and the brave Londoners who risked their lives to care for others. You are the best of us.
“Our city is filled with great sorrow and anger tonight but also great resolve and determination because our unity and love for one another will always be stronger than the hate of the extremists.
“This is our city. These are our values and this is our way of life. London will never be broken by terrorism we will step up the fight against extremism and we will defeat the terrorists.”
The third terrorist has still not been named.
Butt, 27, a British citizen who was born in Pakistan, is said to be the ringleader of the attack and featured in a controversial Channel 4 documentary last year.
Redouane, 30, had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. He also used the name Rachid Elkhdar.
Butt was known to the police and MI5, the Metropolitan Police confirmed, but there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned, it added. Redouane, was not known to police.
Khan has quietly endured attacks from Donald Trump since the attack.
The US President said the London mayor was “pathetic” for telling Londoners not to be alarmed by an increase in police presence in the wake of it.
It came after Khan fired back on Sunday by claiming was “too busy to respond” to a tweet in which Trump manipulated the mayor’s statement in the wake of the deadly attack on London Bridge and Borough Market.
It was a retort the mayor repeated at a vigil for victims of the attack in London Monday night:
At Monday’s White House press briefing, Deputy Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders, repeatedly denied that Trump was “picking a fight” and was merely trying to draw attention to the threat posed by terrorists.