Theresa May has vowed that "hatred and evil" of the kind seen in the attack on a north London mosque will never succeed.
The Prime Minister was speaking following a meeting with security officials and ministers in the Government's Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall.
She confirmed that police believe the man who drove a van into worshippers outside Finsbury Park Mosque in the early hours of Monday acted alone.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, Mrs May said the attack had "once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives - this time, British Muslims as they left a mosque, having broken their fast and prayed together at this sacred time of year".
Read more: Armed patrols stepped up in Scotland after London terror attack
She added: "Today we come together, as we have done before, to condemn this act and to state once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed."
Mrs May said that the attack on Muslims was "every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life" as the recent string of terror attacks apparently motivated by Islamist extremism, adding: "We will stop at nothing to defeat it."
Mrs May said police would continue to assess the security needs of mosques and would provide whatever additional resources were needed.
"This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship and, like all terrorism in whatever form, it shares the same fundamental goal. It seeks to drive us apart and to break the precious bonds of solidarity and citizenship which we share in this country," she said.
"We will not let this happen. This morning we have seen a sickening attempt to destroy those freedoms and to break those bonds of citizenship that define our United Kingdom.
"It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible."
Mrs May said there had been "far too much tolerance of extremism" - including Islamophobia - and that the Government was determined to stamp it out.
She affirmed plans to deny extremists a "safe space" on the internet and to review the Government's counter-terrorism strategy.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the attack came at a "difficult time" for London following the Grenfell Tower fire and the London Bridge attack and she paid tribute to the spirit of the city.
"What we have seen throughout - whether in the heroism of the ordinary citizens who fought off the attackers at London Bridge; the unbreakable resolve of the residents in Kensington; or this morning the spirit of the community that apprehended this attacker - is that this is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people," she said.
"It is home to a multitude of communities that together make London one of the greatest cities on Earth - diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate.
"These are the values that define this city. These are the values that define this country. These are the values that this Government will uphold. These are the values that will prevail."
Mrs May later met faith leaders at the Finsbury Park Mosque.
She then emerged, with the representatives of different religions at her side, to talk to reporters.
Read more: Armed patrols stepped up in Scotland after London terror attack
She said: "The terrible terrorist attack which took place last night was an evil borne out of hatred and it has devastated a community.
"I am pleased to have been here today to see the strength of that community coming together, all faiths united in one desire to see extremism and hatred of all sorts driven out of our society.
"There is no place for this hatred in our country today and we need to work together as one society, one community, to drive it out, this evil which is affecting so many families."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel