A knife-wielding terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest killed two people before being shot dead by police yesterday.

The attacker, who has not been named, was killed on London Bridge after 2pm in view of horrified onlookers.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick last night confirmed two people had died and three others were injured in the attack. One of those injured was described by medics as in a critical but stable condition.

She refused to confirm whether or not the suspect was known to police, but said: “We will be working as fast as we can to understand who this man is, where he comes from and whether there is anyone else who we need to find quickly who might be in touch with him.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called a meeting of the Government’s emergency committee Cobra last night and cancelled his election campaigning events on today. The LibDems have also decided to suspend campaigning.

Several people were stabbed by the knifeman before he was stopped on London Bridge, which was the scene of a bloody rampage in summer 2017 when eight people were killed and 48 seriously injured.

Scotland Yard said the incident started at nearby Fishmongers’ Hall, and that police had “bravely and professionally confronted the suspect” within five minutes of being alerted.

Footage on social media shows one man being urged to move away by armed officers before the suspect is shot at point-blank range while another bystander – understood to be a plain clothes officer – can be seen carrying a large knife from the scene.

Another video appeared to show a person on a stretcher – surrounded by emergency services staff and vehicles – being given CPR by emergency crew following the attack.

The members of the public who intervened have been widely praised, with mayor of London Sadiq Khan hailing their “breathtaking heroism”.

Witnesses said the suspect appeared to be wearing a suicide vest but Neil Basu, head of counter-terrorism policing, said the vest was fake.

Police were called at around 2pm to a stabbing “at a premises near London Bridge”. After being shot, the suspect raised his arms towards his head before becoming still. 

A second knife could be seen on the ground near his body.

Mr Basu said: “A male suspect was shot by specialist armed officers from City of London police and I can confirm this suspect died at the scene.”

Witnesses described a scene of panic around London Bridge, moments after the incident. Nurse Jackie Bensfield, 32, described how she asked to be let off a bus on London Bridge after she heard “five or six” gunshots. Ms Bensfield, who was on her way home from work, said she exited the bus and “ran like hell” to escape the shots.

Cecilia Sodero was on a bus going over London Bridge when she heard shots and saw a man lying on the ground with a “very scary device, like a bomb device”.

She told Sky News she saw “six people holding someone on the floor”, adding: “At some point someone says, ‘Oh, he has a knife’, and we were like, oh my gosh, this guy is supposed to stab someone and people was running away.

“The police officers finally they removed the knife but then what happened is, when they shot the guy, the guy is still alive, and they shoot and he’s trying to pull the black jacket off so I was able to see the vest that he was wearing.”

“And it seems like a very scary device, like a bomb device, at that point we just ran away from the bus.”

In the BBC election debate last night, Nicola Sturgeon said her first thoughts were with the two families who had lost a loved one, but also raised the political dimension.

The First Minister said: “We witnessed exceptional acts of bravery on the part of the public and I, like all of us, are full of admiration.

“In terms of what we do, we have to make sure that we support our security services, that we keep access to the best intelligence, which is one of many reasons I think leaving the European Union is a mistake. 

“Although no amount of police officers can prevent every terrorist attack, the numbers of police officers is important in ensuring the speed of response we saw from the emergency services today.”

“The SNP government in Scotland has, over the past decade, increased and maintained police numbers. I think it is regrettable that hasn’t happened elsewhere in the UK, and I hope that after this election we will see police officers get the support that they so richly deserve.” 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog said it has launched an investigation into the police shooting of the London Bridge attacker, which is standard procedure for such incidents.

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.

In 2017, eight people were killed when terrorists drove a van into crowds crossing London Bridge before attacking others with knives on the bridge and in neighbouring pubs and restaurants. 

The three terrorists in that incident, shot dead by armed police, were wearing fake suicide vests.