May-day moment: Enough is enough
British PM calls for urgent change in strategy to deal with terrorism Parties suspend campaigning
London, June 4: British Prime Minister Theresa May reacted on Sunday to an attack that killed seven people in London by saying things could not continue as they were and that the strategy for dealing with terrorism needed to be reviewed in four ways.
“We believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face as terrorism breeds terrorism,” May said in a televised statemen in front of her Downing Street office, where flags flew at halfmast. “Perpetrators are inspired to attack not only on the basis of carefully constructed plots ... And not even as lone attackers radicalised online, but by copying one another andoften using the crudest of means of attack.”
The PM said the series of attacks represented a perversion of Islam. “It is time to say enough is enough.” She said campaigning ahead of a national parliamentary election on Thursday was suspended as a mark of respect, but would resume on Monday.
May listed four areas where she said change needed to take place. The first was the fight against the “evil ideology” inspiring the repeated attacks, which she called a perversion of Islam and of the truth. The fight could not be won through military intervention alone, she said, adding that there was a need to defend pluralistic British values that were superior to anything offered by the “preachers of hate”.
Secondly, May said, new regulations were needed to reduce the space available to extremists online. “We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet and the big companies that provide Internet-based services provide,” May said. Thirdly, she said, more needed to be done to identify and stamp out extremism across British society.
The fourth area was the counter-terrorism strategy, which May said was robust but needed to be reviewed in light of the changing threat. She said that if an increase in jail sentences for terrorism-related offences, even apparently minor ones, were needed, then it would be done.
“We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are,” May said in a televised statement in front of her Downing Street office.
The main parties that suspended the election campaign include the ruling Conservative party, Opposition Labour and Scottish National Party. “The Conservative party will not be campaigning nationally today,” a Tory party spokesperson said. “The Labour Party will be suspending national campaigning until this evening.” party leader Jeremy Corbyn said.