London united: one year on from series of terror attacks in the capital that left 14 people dead, the city comes together to honour victims

Alexandra Richards22 March 2018

Londoners will unite for a day of commemoration one year on from terror attacks which rocked the capital.

Events to remember all the victims who died in the four terror attacks in London last year will be held today.

The message #LondonUnited will be projected in four locations.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the projections were an “act of solidarity” and said Londoner’s stand together “united against terrorism and hope in the future.”

Westminster Bridge Terror Attack: One Year On

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Fourteen people in total died in the attacks on London Bridge, Finsbury Park Mosque and the Houses of Parliament which took place between March and September 2017. The attack at Parsons Green underground station, where a homemade bomb partially detonated injuring about 50 people, is also being commemorated.

Five people died and 49 were injured in the attack in Westminster on March 22 last year. The attacker also died.

Terror attacks in London 2017

March 22: Five people were killed when Khalid Masood mounted the pavement and mowed down people on Westminster bridge. On duty officer PC Keith Palmer was stabbed to death. Mr Masood was shot by responding armed officers

June 3: Eight people were killed when a van driven by three muslin extremists drove into pedestrians on London Bridge. The attackers then launched a knife attack in Borough Market. All of the attackers were shot dead by police

June 19: Darren Osborne drove a van into worshippers leaving Finsbury Park Mosque . He killed 51 year-old Makram Ali and injured nine others. He was sentenced to life imprisonment

September 15: Iraqi teenager Ahmed Hassan, 18, detonated a homemade bomb on the District Line train at Parsons Green tube station injuring 50 people. Mr Hassan was found guilty of attempted murder

The sister of one of the victims today spoke out about the horrific event in a heartbreaking interview.

Magda Toi’s said she refuses to dwell on the killer. Her sister Andreea Cristea, 31, was flung into the River Thames when Khalid Masood ploughed into Londoners on Westminster Bridge on March 22 last year.

Victim: Andreea Cristea fell into the Thames when Khalid Masood ploughed into tourists on Westminster Bridge (Metropolitan Police )
Metropolitan Police

Although she survived the fall, she died in hospital two weeks later.

He said Pc Palmer was “a true and loyal friend, utterly reliable” and added: "Most of all I will remember him as a family man who idolised his wife, daughter and his family; they're the important ones that I think about a year on from the Westminster attack."

Tributes: murdered policeman Keith Palmer pictured with his wife Michelle

Ms Toi told the BBC: “I'm not interested in it because my sister is dead and no-one and nothing will bring her back."

Recalling the moment she found out that her sister had been involved in the incident, Ms Toi said: "You don't expect to hear on the phone that something tragic has happened."

A junior doctor who rushed to the aid of the victims who were mowed down during the attack spoke of the Mayhem she encountered.

Dr Colleen Anderson rushed to the aid of the victims
PA

Dr Colleen Anderson was working at St Thomas' Hospital, on the bank of the Thames opposite Parliament and next to the bridge, when a colleague saw the attack.

The doctor, who was only eight months into her training, said much of the two hours she spent attending to the wounded on the bridge was with Pc Kristofer Aves, who has been left paralysed by the injuries he suffered.

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Looking back one year later, Dr Anderson said: "I remember it vividly and perhaps I would not remember so much if there were not these constant reminders.

"There was a show on looking back at 2017 and all the attacks and unfortunately I was on call when London Bridge happened.

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"Good things have come from it - it brought people much closer together and it did not do anything to deter people."

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