France knife attack: British girl, 3 among those stabbed in Annecy, Foreign Office confirms - latest update

A three year old British girl is thought to be among those stabbed in the knife attackA three year old British girl is thought to be among those stabbed in the knife attack
A three year old British girl is thought to be among those stabbed in the knife attack | AFP via Getty Images
A British girl is thought to have been stabbed in the Annecy knife attack

A three-year-old English girl was one of the children stabbed in France by a Syrian asylum seeker this morning (June 8), the government has confirmed. The girl, who has British nationality, was one of the six victims of a knife attack carried out at a lakeside park in Annecy.

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It is thought that a man armed with a knife attacked a group of children aged around three years old at 9.45am on Thursday. The English girl has been transferred to Grenoble hospital centre where she is receiving treatment. At the time, the suspect told police he was a Syrian asylum seeker but his identity has not been verified.

Rishi Sunak issued a statement regarding the attack. It reads: “My thoughts are with all of those affected by the shocking attack in Annecy this morning.

As @EmmanuelMacron has said, it was a truly cowardly act.The UK and France have always stood together against acts of violence, and we do so again today.”

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The attacker is not believed to be known to security services, a police source told the agency. A press conference is set to take place this afternoon.

British consular officials are understood to be travelling to Annecy to help support the British family whose child was stabbed. James Cleverly, the foreign secretary said the British government is ready to support the French authorities and that his “thoughts are with the victims and the families”.

BBC have reported him as saying: “And of course we stand in strong solidarity with the people of France at this terrible time.”

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