This morning, I was joined by faith leaders, local people, Council staff, and councillors to observe the minute's silence to remember those affected by the horrific attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market On Saturday night, and last night I represented the borough at the vigil at City Hall.

As the identities of those who were lost are confirmed - at least one of them a Hackney resident - all of our thoughts are with their families and those whose lives have been torn apart by this senseless act.

It will be important over the coming days, weeks and months, to take time to remember those who lost their lives and were injured, but we must also celebrate and protect everything that is special about London - and about Hackney. That spirit of resilience has been at the heart of our response to both the Manchester and London attacks.

Hackney is a brilliant, creative, diverse place and I'm proud to be the Mayor of such a tolerant borough. It's a place where people from all walks of life - different nationalities, religions, backgrounds, sexualities - all live together, and we will not allow these values to be eroded by terrorists.

We must do everything we can to keep it that way. It's what we have always done in the face of terror, and now more than ever, it's important that we come together to challenge the ideologies that fuel hate.

No one should have to live in fear as they go about their daily lives and as a Council we will continue to work with the police and our partners across our community to do everything we can to keep our borough and its residents safe. Meanwhile we all owe it to the memory of the victims of recent events to ensure that our borough and our capital remains the special, welcoming place that it is.