The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Terrorists strike again and ‘enough is enough’
PM says ‘far too much tolerance of extremism’; vows terrorism crackdown Police arrest 12 after raids in London 7 killed, 48 injured in capital attack
Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to launch a campaign against the “evil ideology of Islamist extremism”, after the London attack.
The horrific scenes of Saturday night left seven people dead and 48 injured – 21 of whom are in critical condition – in what was the third terror attack in the UK in the last three months.
The three men who used a van to mow down people on London Bridge before stabbing victims in nearby Borough Market were shot dead by armed officers. Raids by police in London yesterday saw 12 people arrested.
After the car and knife attack in Westminster and the suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena that killed 22 people, Mrs May said there has been “far too much tolerance of extremism in our country”. She suggested increased prison terms for terrorism offences and called on internet companies to deny extremists a forum.
Police opened fire with an “unprecedented” hail of 50 bullets to kill three knifemen whose eight-minute wave of terror in London left seven people dead and 21 fighting for their lives.
The terrorists brought carnage to the streets, mowing down pedestrians with a van on London Bridge before stabbing a police officer and revellers around Borough Market with 12-inch knives.
One of the attackers shouted “this is for Allah” as he knifed a man near a pub.
Saturday night’s atrocity was the third terrorist outrage to hit the country this year.
The three men, wearing fake suicide bomb vests, were shot dead by eight officers outside a pub, while a bystander was injured when they were accidentally hit by a stray bullet.
Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a stark assessment of the threat facing the UK, saying that although there was no direct link between the three incidents, “terrorism breeds terrorism”.
People from around the world were caught up as hundreds cowered in pubs and restaurants, barricading themselves inside as the attackers stalked the streets.
Witnesses said the terrorists deliberately drove into pedestrians on London Bridge shortly after 10pm – in the same way as Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood.
Attacking people after abandoning the van, they headed to Borough Market where the pubs and restaurants were packed with Saturday night crowds.
One woman, Elizabeth O’Neill, said her son Daniel was approached by one of the men who said, ‘this is for my family, this is for Islam’, before sticking a knife in him.
The 23-year-old was left with a seveninch wound from his stomach to his back, and was saved by a friend who applied a tourniquet and took him downstairs in a pub.
Mrs O’Neill condemned the terrorists as “callous and barbaric”, saying: “These people say they are doing it in the name of god which is an absolute joke.”
Cordons remained in place around much of London Bridge and Borough Market yesterday evening, and sources said the area was expected to remain closed today.
And shortly before 9pm a white, container flatbed truck was seen leaving London Bridge, with what is thought to have been the terrorists’ van inside.
The Government’s emergency Cobra committee gathered yesterday afternoon, for the second time that day, to discuss the attack.
Earlier Prime Minister Theresa May warned that Britain is in the grip of a spate of copycat terror plots and stated her determination to stamp out “safe spaces” that exist in the real world, saying: “There is – to be frank – far too much tolerance of extremism in our country.”
Mrs May set out a four-pronged strategy to tackle terror by countering radical ideology; clamping down on online extremism; preventing the growth of segregated communities; and giving extra powers to police, security agencies and courts.
After Mrs May delivered her bleak appraisal of the risk facing the UK, US President Donald Trump, in a series of early morning tweets, lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan for his response to the attack, saying it is time to “stop being politically correct” about terrorism.
However, the President’s criticism of Mr Khan for suggesting Londoners should not be “alarmed” was based on a clear misinterpretation of some of the mayor’s comments.
In a withering riposte, a spokesman for the mayor said: “He has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet.”
A vigil will be held this evening near London Bridge in honour of the victims, while a minute’s silence will take place at 11am tomorrow.
There is – to be frank – far too much tolerance of extremism in our country. PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY