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UK police find 8th victim of London Bridge attack in water

<p>London <a href="http://news.met.police.uk/news/statement-on-investigation-into-london-bridge-and-borough-market-terror-attacks-244613" target="_blank">police say</a> they and British intelligence had their eyes on one of the London attackers before Saturday. So why wasn't the attack stopped?</p><p>That's a loaded question. First, police say there was no evidence that the attack was planned, so the investigation wasn't a top priority. They say they're dealing with 500 counterterror investigations involving 3,000 people of interest right now. </p><p>And some policymakers argue the police don't have the resources to do an adequate job of investigating and stopping terror plots. The country's upcoming election could change that.</p><p>U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is currently fighting for her job against Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. And they have different plans to address that issue.</p><p>Corbyn <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/election-2017-40154361" target="_blank">accuses May</a> of overseeing a drop of almost 19,000 police officers during her time as head of the Home Office — that's the government ministry that oversees immigration, police, counterterrorism and other public safety-related concerns.</p><p>For her part, May says she protected counterterror police from that slump. And crime fell by 30 percent on her watch. </p><p>She also went after Corbyn for opposing shoot-to-kill measures. Back in 2015, Corbyn said he "wasn't happy" with the shoot-to-kill policy for police. Corbyn said that comment was taken out of context, but he didn't clarify his stance in an interview with BBC News taken after Saturday's attack.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/nsa-stops-some-collection-of-americans-texts-emails/">The NSA Just Halted A Controversial Part Of Its Surveillance Program</a></b></p><p>Corbyn says there needs to be more police funding and more police on the streets in the U.K. He also wants more intelligence-gathering.</p><p>That's something May might agree with him on. On Sunday, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-following-london-terror-attack-4-june-2017" target="_blank">she called</a> for stricter internet regulation to be able to identify would-be attackers. </p><p>The thing is, British police and security services already have some of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/05/world/europe/london-attack-uk-election.html?_r=1" target="_blank">world's strongest</a> surveillance policies for a democracy. Just this year <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/12/ip-act-uk-extreme-surveillance-law-161201141317587.html" target="_blank">a measure</a> went into effect allowing the government to hack into the devices of people in the U.K. </p><p>And on the ground, the U.K. already has pretty extensive surveillance, especially in London. Closed circuit television, or CCTV, cameras are all over the place.</p><p>In some cases, measures like that may be working. May said police stopped five "credible" terrorist plots since a March attack in London.</p><p>Voters head to the polls in the U.K. on Thursday to choose their parliamentary representatives. The head of the party with a majority of seats in Parliament will be <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/general/" target="_blank">the de facto</a> prime minister.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/montenegro-joins-nato-despite-ties-to-russia/">NATO Officially Welcomes A New Member</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/multiple-countries-cut-diplomatic-ties-with-qatar/">Gulf Nations Lead Push To Isolate Qatar</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/in-wake-of-london-terror-attack-trump-pushes-for-travel-ban/">In Wake Of London Terror Attack, Trump Pushes For Travel Ban</a></li></ul>
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LONDON (AP) — Police searching for a French man who has been missing since the London Bridge attack say they have recovered a body from the River Thames.

The Metropolitan Police say the body was found Tuesday downstream from the bridge. The force says formal identification has not yet taken place, but Xavier Thomas' next of kin have been informed.

If confirmed, Thomas would be the eighth person killed in the vehicle and knife attack. Almost 50 were wounded.

Thomas, 45, was walking with his girlfriend over the bridge when the attack began on Saturday night.

Police said earlier that witness accounts suggested he might have been thrown into the river. Thomas' girlfriend was struck and seriously injured by the van.

Police early Wednesday arrested a 30-year-old man in east London in connection to the attack and are searching his home.

Two men are now in custody on suspicion of violating the Terrorism Act. They have not been identified or charged. All others who had been arrested have been released without facing charges.

London officials said a large part of the outer cordon of the crime scene had reopened. Borough Market, a popular gathering place, remains closed as more evidence is gathered.

The attack, and prior attacks in Manchester and near Parliament in London, have prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to call for tougher counterterrorism laws even if it means changing human rights protections.

Reaction to the attack has dominated the final days of campaigning before Thursday's general election, with opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and others criticizing May for cutting police numbers by roughly 20,000 during her tenure as home secretary.

In the Saturday night rampage, the attackers first drove a rented van into a crowd and then jumped out and randomly stabbed people they encountered.

Police killed all three attackers.

At least two of the men were known to British intelligence and law-enforcement officials, raising questions about whether anything could have been done to prevent the assault.

Police have named the attackers as Khurum Butt, 27, who had been known for his extremist views; 30-year-old Rachid Redouane, also known as Rachid Elkhdar; and Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent who was reportedly working in a London restaurant.

Italian authorities said Zaghba had been stopped and questioned in Italy but had not been charged with any crime. Italian officials said suspicions about him had been shared with British authorities.