Ahead of today’s COVID-19 conference, the prime minister Boris Johnson described the attack outside of Liverpool Women’s Hospital as “sickening” and said his “thoughts remain with all those affected”.

“On behalf of the country I want to pay tribute to the emergency services who responded, as always, with such speed and professionalism.

“The police have now confirmed that this being treated as a terrorist attack. While the investigation continues at pace you will understand that I can’t comment on the details of the case or its motivation, but it is a stark reminder of the need for us all to remain utterly vigilant.

“The independent joint terrorism analysis centre, JTAC, are today raising the UK’s threat level from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’ meaning an attack is highly likely.

“But what yesterday showed above all is that the British people will never be cowed by terrorism, we will never give in to those who seek to divide us with senseless acts of violence, and our freedoms and our way of life will always prevail.”