London terror attacks: Britain election cannot be delayed, will take place on 8 June as scheduled

Britain’s 8 June election date “probably cannot be changed” following an attack in London on Saturday night, which killed seven people, minister David Davis said on Sunday. “I’m not sure it can be legally done. In order to do this, you’d have to have some change of law, I think, and who’s going to do that? Parliament no longer exists,” Davis told the BBC, referring to the fact that Parliament was dissolved ahead of the election. “I think we’re locked in,” Davis said. [caption id=“attachment_3515985” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Armed police officers outside Borough Market after an attack left six people dead in London. Reuters[/caption] Britain’s main political parties suspended campaigning after the attack, although the UK Independence Party (UKIP) said it would carry on. The truce is the second in the race for the 8 June vote, after campaigning was halted for several days following the Manchester concert attack on 22 May. But with the race between Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives and the main opposition Labour party tightening, the suspension is only for national events — and is likely to last only a few hours. “The Conservative Party will not be campaigning nationally today. We will review as the day goes on and as more details of the attack emerge,” a spokesman for the centre-right party told AFP. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said, “The Labour party will be suspending national campaigning until this evening, after consultations with other parties, as a mark of respect for those who have died and suffered injury.” The Scottish National Party (SNP) said it was suspending national campaigning “this morning”, adding, “Appropriate local campaigning will continue.” The smaller Liberal Democrats also followed suit. However, Paul Nuttall, the leader of the pro-Brexit anti-immigration UKIP, said, “I refused to suspend campaigning because this is precisely what the extremists would want us to do. It is more important than ever for us to confront this evil with the democratic principles that have made this country what it is.” With inputs from agencies