Britain needs to have “difficult conversations” with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states about the funding of Islamist extremism, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday, resuming his election campaign after a deadly attack in London.

The Labour party leader, who is hoping to win Thursday’s (June 8) national election, said the vote should go ahead to show democracy would not be halted by the London Bridge attack that left seven dead and 48 injured.

“Our democratic values must be maintained. We must resist Islamophobia and division and turn out on the 8th of June united in our determination to show our democracy is strong, however, you decide to vote. And yes, we do need to have some difficult conversations, starting with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states who have funded and fuelled extremist ideology,” Corbyn said.

“It is no good Theresa May suppressing a report into the foreign funding of extremist groups, we have to get serious about cutting off their funding to these terror networks, including ISIS (Islamic State), here and in the Middle East.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Theresa May called for a stronger response to Islamist extremism after three knife-wielding assailants drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby.

Corbyn said Britain’s democratic values must be maintained.

He attacked May for cutting police numbers during her tenure as interior minister and repeated his pledge to recruit 10,000 new police officers, including armed officers.

Reuters