Peter Hill

IT WAS reassuring to hear the Prime Minister vow that “enough is enough” but as with that other soundbite, “Brexit means Brexit,” we are left wondering what it means. Given that Britain is a liberal democracy what measures can be taken to prevent further terrorist attacks?

At least one of the London Bridge killers was known to the police but there are 23,000 potential terrorists on file with 3,000 a serious risk. More will arrive here as Islamic State is defeated in the Middle East. Even a police state would be pushed to keep track of so many.

Internment must be considered but is it a good idea to corral thousands of like-minded fanatics in camps where they will fuel each other’s hatred? Better to isolate them so they can’t communicate, quite feasible with sophisticated electronic surveillance systems. But has Parliament the will to do it and will the courts support such measures?

Human rights will overturn all but the feeblest attempts to detain suspects for more than a few days but that’s precisely when the Prime Minister must insist that enough really is enough and push through legislation enabling the authorities to hold dangerous individuals indefinitely.

We also need many more armed police on the streets, in public places and on transport. Let’s be seen to be fighting back against the evil in our midst. q BRIDGES are a prime target because pedestrians are so vulnerable there. On an urban street it might be possible to dodge behind parked cars, down a side street or seek refuge in a shop or pub and lock the doors. But on a bridge you are trapped.

Parking is banned on most city crossings and there are only two ways off unless you jump over the side and risk whatever danger lies beneath. Some might say that barricading the pavements is an admission of defeat. Far from it. It’s an essential defensive strategy. q WHEN something bad happens you know who your friends are. On Sunday morning the phone rang constantly with people asking if we were OK, although Borough Market is all of three miles from where we live.

Still it was a nice thought and a great chance to catch up. That’s another thing about real friends: even if you haven’t spoken for months or even years it seems like only yesterday when you do get in touch. q THERE are some people I would rather not contact me, the businesses and organisations who insist on collecting my details. My wife and I recently went to a design exhibition but you couldn’t get in unless you listed your name, address, email and phone numbers and – the cheek – even your age. Perhaps we should have put some spurious nonsense into the computer but we were honest. Within 15 minutes messages started appearing on our phones and haven’t stopped since. They join the hundreds of other online attempts to sell, rent, “give”, lend, take something or other.

Spam mail is an unstoppable tsunami of rubbish and the idiots don’t seem to understand that the more they send the less chance they have of success. q I CAN’T watch Question Time because the studio audiences infuriate me. Being on TV changes people because they desperately want to seem cool.

It has never been cool to be a Tory so people vie to show how right-on they are. As a result the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and Nick Clegg get a much easier ride than anyone from the Conservative Party. Newspaper people also get a kicking because it’s cool to have a go at journalists. Opinion polls are nonsense too because many people tell a pack of lies to feel good about themselves.

That’s why I’m hoping recent polls suggesting the election is neck and neck are way off beam. Anyone who believes that Brother Jeremy is a harmless grandad who loves you is mistaken. He is a socialist throwback who will (legally) steal from the hard workers and who has given comfort to our enemies for decades. He hasn’t changed his spots and never will.

I trust most voters won’t risk handing power to Corbyn and his nasty crew of envy-mongers who will bankrupt Britain in weeks, impoverishing the entire population – apart from themselves and their mates. q THE Metropolitan Police is willing to recruit detectives who have never worked as uniformed police in an effort to fill 600 vacancies. After 18 weeks’ training they will go to work – initial salary £30,000 – investigating cases. Can you imagine the loathing and contempt these rookies will face among the hardened bobbies who have slaved in rain, snow, dreary local nicks and courtrooms for years? Survivors will need balls of weapons-grade steel. q WHILE travelling on London’s public transport system I’ve been noticing many women putting on make-up. Not just a quick dusting with the powder puff but the whole nine yards in some cases: lipstick, eyebrow pencil, mascara and other stuff of which I know nothing. All done oblivious to other passengers as if the self-groomer were the only person in the world.

It’s not a crime but it’s kind of insulting, as if the people around don’t matter, almost like using the lavatory in front of everyone. I also disapprove of public eaters, the sort who consume whole bento boxes or whatever under your nose. Ditto aggressive demonstrations of affection.

Perhaps I am an old fusspot but I happen to believe that there is a proper time and place for many activities.