ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY: DEFIANCE IN FACE OF TERROR We’re not afraid, this is our home
Thousands gather at vigil to pay tribute to victims of atrocity People determined to carry on in spite of sickening attack
AS dusk dimmed the skies behind Big Ben last night, thousands gathered to unite in defiance of terrorism.
Office workers on their journey home paused for a candlelit vigil in Trafalgar Square to remember the victims of Wednesday’s atrocity.
Mingling with them were tourists, people from every corner of the world, applauding London’s staunch reaction to one of its darkest days.
One woman had written on her hand the defiant slogan: “We are not afraid.”
Politicians, police chiefs and religious leaders stood with heads bowed in respect for the people who lost their lives a five-minute walk away.
And as Home Secretary Amber Rudd lit a candle they applauded a gesture that told the world Britain will carry on, however its democracy is attacked. Mayor Sadiq Khan told the crowd massed before Nelson’s Column: “London will never be cowed by terrorism.”
Earlier, at exactly 2.40pm – 24 hours on from Khalid Masood’s rampage – I spoke to passersby on recently re-opened Westminster Bridge.
Accountant Shaimaa Mamdouh, 32, an Egyptian Muslim who has worked here for six years, said she was ashamed of the crazed killer who tarnished her religion. “It makes me so sad,” she said. “I feel I have to defend myself even though I have done nothing. It also makes me feel as though I have to defend my religion even though this has nothing to do with my religion.”
The mum-to-be, on her way to St Thomas’ Hospital for a check-up, added: “These people are not Muslims. They know nothing about Islam. They kill Muslims and children. They just kill anyone.”
Nearby, German sisters Katja and Sonja Voss, from Kiel, were determined to carry on. Katja, 24, said: “I would not say I feel unsafe. Being scared does not make things any better.” At the southern end of the bridge a Chinese couple posed in wedding outfits for a photograph with Big Ben in the background. Sitting precariously on a stone ledge above the river they laughed and smiled, unaware this was the exact location where Masood began his death rampage. The souvenir kiosk where tourists were hit remained shut. In a mangled postcard rack was a Union Jack photo album bearing the wartime slogan Keep Calm and Carry On. The memory of the atrocity was still vivid to many. Yet London decided the best way to honour