It is a dark day for New Zealand and for the world.

Londoners waking up this morning discovered that a far-right terrorist had taken the lives of 49 people and wounded 20 more.

Innocent worshippers at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, the Al Noor mosque and another in the Linwood suburb, were murdered or injured in what the country's Prime Minister called "an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence".

As the people of New Zealand try to make sense of this immense tragedy, everyone in London will be sending our thoughts and standing in solidarity with them against religious hatred.

(Image: TVNZ via AP)

A statement from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan sums up how we all feel.

He said: "Heartbreaking news from New Zealand this morning where innocent people have been murdered because of their faith.

"London stands with the people of Christchurch in the face of this horrific terror attack.

"London will always celebrate the diversity that some seek to destroy."

This morning speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow announced parliament would hold a minute's silence at 11am in honour of those killed.

(Image: AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Now, more than ever, it is important for Londoners to take a stand against racial, religious and anti-immigrant hatred, of the kind espoused in a manifesto posted online by the suspected shooter.

Rather than giving the gunman the attention he craves, evidenced by the fact he chose to live stream his rampage on Facebook , we need to focus on how to repair the divides in society that led to innocent people being vilified and killed.

While never on this scale, sadly London is no stranger to violent persecution of this kind, as evidenced by the 2017 attack at the Finsbury Park mosque and a hit-and-run outside a Brent Muslim community centre last year .

We all need to make it clear to those around us that Islamophobia, even in its supposedly milder forms, is unacceptable in our society.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took to Twitter in the aftermath of the attack to reaffirm that Islamophobic ideology has no place in the country.

She said: "What has happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence. It has no place in New Zealand.

"Many of those affected will be members of our migrant communities – New Zealand is their home – they are us. The person who has committed this violent act has no place here."