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Posted: 2017-06-05T13:27:30Z | Updated: 2017-06-05T17:36:46Z

Three major terror attacks in as many months have brought a renewed focus on extremism in the United Kingdom, as the country grieves for the dozens killed and authorities search for answers. And as the U.K. heads into a general election this week, the attacks have added vitriol to the debate over how the British government should best address national security.

At least seven people were killed when three men careened a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people in the nearby Borough Market on Saturday night. Police shot and killed the assailants soon after the attack began. Following the violence, authorities arrested a dozen people in East London and carried out controlled explosions during a raid at a flat.

A Renewed Focus On Terror

Although Britons have publicly embraced a message of unity following the killings and politicians have vowed that the country would not be cowed by terror, there is alarm in the U.K. over the rate and scale of attacks in recent months. The incidents prompted Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday to promise an overhaul of Britains counterterrorism strategy and possibly pursue new laws targeting extremism.

She declared in a speech that enough is enough, and vowed to introduce a four-point plan to address the threat of terrorism. Among the relatively vague policy prescriptions, she called for the targeting of safe spaces for Islamist extremism both online and in Britain. May also raised the idea of lengthening sentences for terrorism-related offenses, including minor infractions.

While we have made significant progress in recent years, there is to be frank far too much tolerance of extremism in our country, May said.