PM warns of ‘new trend in the threat we face’ but urges public to live life as normal
the public. The Prime Minister is expected to chair a meeting of the Government’s Cobra emergency committee this morning. The terrorist threat level remained at severe yesterday. The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre decided not to increase it to critical, the highest level, which happened after the Manchester suicide bombing last month.
Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, explained that “we don’t believe there are additional elements which could be carrying on the attack”, in other words the police believe all members of the cell are accounted for.
Mrs May praised the “courage and great speed” with which the emergency services responded. She said: “On behalf of the people of London and on behalf of the whole country, I want to thank and pay tribute to the professionalism and bravery of the police and the emergency services, and the courage of members of the public who defended themselves and others from the attackers.”
Mrs May said the country was “experiencing a new trend in the threat we face, as terrorism breeds terrorism and perpetrators are inspired to attack, not only on the basis of carefully constructed plots after years of planning and training, and not even as lone attackers radicalised online, but by copying one another and often using the crudest of means of attack”.
She went on: “Everybody needs to go about their lives as they normally would. “Our society should continue to function in accordance with our values. We must come together, we must pull together, and united we will take on and defeat our enemies.”
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, told Londoners that there would be extra police officers on the streets but that they should not be “alarmed”.
President Trump appeared to have misinterpreted his advice, saying on Twitter: “We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don’t get smart it will only get worse.
“At least seven dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’”