Theresa May will start work on toughening anti-terrorism measures on Friday if she is re-elected, she said last night, and promised she will not let human rights laws stand in her way.

The Prime Minister will make it easier to deport foreign terror suspects and will extend existing laws that restrict the freedom of British suspects.

Mrs May has been stung by criticism of her record on counter-terrorism following Saturday’s attack on London, the third terrorist outrage in the space of three months.

She has faced a barrage of questions about why the three Islamist terrorists who killed seven at the weekend were free to do it despite two of them of them being on the radar of the police or MI5. She has also been taken to task over a 20,000 reduction in police numbers under her watch.