“First and foremost our thoughts are with the families of those who lost loved ones in the horrific incident last night and we wish our very best to those still injured,”  Thames Valley Police Federation Chairman Craig O’Leary said in a statement.

“There can be no doubt that the swift response of our Thames Valley Police colleagues saved further harm from being caused and potentially more lives from being lost.

“There are barely words to describe their bravery – officers who ran towards danger with the sole thought of protecting the public we serve. Other colleagues valiantly rushed to the scene to try and save and preserve life.

“While the investigation into this incident continues, what we can say is the public can rightly be proud of their emergency services today. We are offering our colleagues involved in this incident our full support.”

There has been a marked increase in Islamist propaganda online in recent months, while at the same time the number of referrals to the government’s main anti-radicalisation programme, Prevent, have fallen by more than 50 per cent, the largest ever in the 10 years the initiative has been running, our defence editor Kim Sengupta reports.

Isis communication channels have been urging adherents in the West, including those in the UK, to carry out attacks, because Europe and the US have been weakened and left disorganised by the coronavirus pandemic.

Security officials point to a number of recent terror-related incidents in Europe. Spanish police arrested an alleged Moroccan Isis supporter in Barcelona on the suspicion that he was planning to carry out attacks last month. A 29-year-old man was arrested in Paris last month after attacking two motorcyclists and then declared after being arrested: “I did it for Isis.” A 33-year-old Sudanese man was charged with alleged terrorist offences and murders after the killing of two people in the town of Romans-sur-lsere in southeastern France.

In April, the national coordinator for the Prevent counter-extremism programme told The Independent that Isis supporters were “encouraging people to target the places that appear most vulnerable”.

The suspect, a 25-year-old Libyan asylum seeker called Khairi Saadallah, came to the attention of the security and intelligence agencies in 2019 when he was seeking to join an Islamist group in the Middle East, our defence editor Kim Sengupta reports.

Mr Saadallah was put under surveillance, but the investigation was scaled down when the journey did not take place. He was subsequently jailed after being convicted of a minor crime.

Mr Saadallah is believed to have arrived in the UK several years ago and had claimed that his family had suffered in the violence which began in the country after the overthrow of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Extremist Islamist groups have carried out attacks in Libya as well as neighbouring Tunisia, but it is not known at present whether he had any connection with any of the groups.

The security agencies are also investigating whether Mr Saadallah had been indoctrinated by Islamic extremism. The police are looking at fellow prisoners he may have met while he was said to have been in prison serving a minor, non-terror related sentence.

The security agencies are also looking at whether Saadallah was influenced by material online and whether this had taken place during the months of lockdown. One official said it was, at this stage, a possible line of inquiry.

Read the full report here:
 

Another remains in a stable condition under observation, a spokesperson told PA earlier this afternoon.

One neighbour from the same floor of the building, who did not wish to be named, told PA: “I’ve only spoken to him for 30 minutes, I didn’t know the guy but it makes me scared. I have a son. I had no idea he could do something like this.”

Another resident, Nathalie Hickson, said: “I heard on the radio that there had been stabbings, then I could see a helicopter so I knew there was something major going on.

“There were loads of police, all sorts of cars, van. There wasn’t noise at first, like waiting for something to happen, with police, counter-terrorism all here.

“Basically it was like watching a film, I was scared, petrified. You just don’t know what’s going to happen next. I heard explosions going off. It’s just horrendous for the people who have gone through.”

There is not believed to be a wider risk to the public and there is nothing to suggest anyone else was involved in the attack, he reaffirms.

Asked during his interview whether the UK could expect more attacks in the coming months, Boris Johnson replied: “I see no reason to draw that conclusion but I do think that clearly if there are lessons to be learned from this particular case then we will learn them.”
 

“I am in regular contact with police & security services who continue with their investigations. My thanks once again goes to our amazing emergency service workers.”

A minute’s silence is to be held tomorrow at 10am, behind closed doors due to social distancing.

One of the patients admitted to Royal Berkshire Hospital after the stabbings has been discharged.

Another remains in a stable condition under observation, a spokesperson told the PA.

The suspect arrested over a terror attack that left three victims dead in Reading is a Libyan national called Khairi Saadallah, The Independent understands.

Saadallah, 25, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody being questioned over the incident, our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden reports.

Police are understood to be investigating mental health issues in connection with the attack.