Theresa May has warned that Britain is in the grip of a spate of copycat terror attacks in the wake of the London Bridge atrocity.
The Prime Minister delivered a stark assessment of the threat facing the UK after seven people were murdered and dozens more injured by three terrorists on Saturday night.
It was the third terrorist outrage to hit the country this year following the Westminster and Manchester attacks.
Speaking outside Downing Street, Mrs May said that although there was no direct link between the three incidents, "terrorism breeds terrorism".
The PM said: "This is, as we all know, the third terrorist attack Britain has experienced in the last three months.
"In March a similar attack took place just around the corner on Westminster Bridge.
"Two weeks ago the Manchester Arena was attacked by a suicide bomber and now London has been struck once more.
"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 and execution, the recent attacks are not connected but we believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face.
"As terrorism breeds terrorism and perpetrators are inspired to attack, not only on the basis of carefully constructed plots after years of planning and training, and not even as lone attackers radicalised online, but by copying one another and often using the crudest of means of attack."