Enough’s enough..
PM vows to ‘defeat our enemies’ and warns of a ‘tolerance of extremism in country that must change’
ANGER Jeremy Corbyn last night THERESA May promised a fresh crackdown on terrorism as she warned Britain faces a “new trend” of jihadis inspiring each other to carry out attacks.
Speaking outside 10 Downing Street yesterday, the Prime Minister warned: “It is time to say enough is enough.”
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn later tore into her for cutting 20,000 police officers during her six years as home secretary.
He said: “You cannot protect the public on the cheap.”
In her speech, May said Britain must change the way it deals with terrorism.
She said the attacks in London and Manchester were not directly connected, but added: “We believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face, as terrorism breeds terrorism.
“Perpetrators are inspired to attack not only on the basis of plots after years of planning and training – and not even as lone attackers radicalised online – but by copying one another.”
The PM warned there is “far too much tolerance of extremism” and that it must be “stamped out”.
She went on: “This is the third terrorist attack Britain has experienced in the last three months.
“And at the same time, the security and intelligence agencies and police have disrupted five credible plots since the Westminster attack in March.”
As all parties agreed Thursday’s General Election must go ahead as planned, Corbyn savaged the PM for ignoring the fears of the police officers’ union.
Speaking in Carlisle last night, he said: “Theresa May was warned by the Police Federation but she accused them of crying wolf.
“We will recruit 10,000 new police officers, including armed police, as well as 1000 more security services staff to help keep us safe.”
Corbyn added: “Our nurses, firefighters, police, doctors and paramedics deserve a pay rise. They cannot just get warm words for their heroism.
“Labour will end austerity and lift the public-sector pay cap.”
May set out a plan to overhaul Britain’s fight against terrorism. She called for the promotion of “British values” to fight the “evil ideology of Islamist extremism”.
She said: “Defeating this ideology NO SOFT TOUCH Armed police walk along on the streets of Borough Market in London yesterday is one of the great challenges of our time. But it cannot be defeated through military intervention alone. It will only be defeated when we turn people’s minds away from this violence.”
“That means taking military action to destroy Isis in Iraq and Syria. But it also means taking action here at home.
“While we have made significant progress in recent years, there is far too much tolerance of extremism in our country. We need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out.”
The PM admitted that Britain’s counter-terrorism strategy may need an overhaul.
She said: “As the nature of the threat we face becomes more complex, more fragmented, more hidden, the strategy needs to keep up.
“We need to review Britain’s counter-terrorism strategy to make sure the police and security services have all the powers they need.”
Details of the Prime Minister’s latest measures remain vague but could include the reinstatement of Labour’s tough control orders for terror suspects, which she replaced
with weaker terrorism prevention and investigations legislation when she was home secretary.
Control orders, introduced by Tony Blair’s government in 2005, allowed suspects to be removed from their communities, subjected to 16-hour house arrest and barred from using mobile phones or the internet.
Changes made by May before she became PM allow them to use mobiles and the internet and to apply to courts to be able to stay away from home.
Tory Iain Duncan Smith said terror laws had been weakened under May’s watch and it may be time to strengthen legislation again.
He said: “The order that we brought in was watered down. I think it was weakened too much.”
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hinted that tougher jail sentences for people who support terrorists could also be part of the answer.
He said: “To those who sympathise or encourage or harbour or aid these killers in any way, your time is up.”
Corbyn also said he supports a shoot-to-kill approach when faced with a terrorist threat.
He said: “I will take whatever action is necessary to protect our country.
“That includes full authority for the police to use whatever force is necessary to protect and save life, as they did last night, as they did in Westminster in March.”
The Labour leader also slammed May for cosying up to dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia, which help fund Islamic terrorism.
“Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have funded and fuelled extremist ideology. We have to get serious about cutting off funding to these networks.”