Everyone has part to play in stopping deadly attacks, says Met counter-terrorism chief

BRITAIN’S most senior counter-terrorism officer has called on “every strand of our society” to unite to defeat extremism.

Mark Rowley, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said universities, retailers, councils, hospitals and the public at large could all help “join the dots” to prevent terrorist attacks.

Invoking the words of Sir Robert Peel, the founder of British policing, he said: “The police are the public, and the public are the police.” Since March, 36 people have died and more than 200 injured in terrorist attacks on British soil. A further six attacks were foiled by the police over the same period.

Speaking in Israel at the 17th Annual Conference of the International Institute for Counter-terrorism, Mr Rowley, who is also head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in London, appealed for people to “come on board and be part of our collective efforts to protect the public and our national security. This means every strand of our society.”

Mr Rowley has previously encouraged people to provide police with tipoffs. In March he said: “Without the public’s help, some of the terror plots that we’ve foiled would have been successful.”

He cited specific security areas where third parties can support the police, including addressing the ability of terrorists freely to use encrypted communications or buy bomb-making materials without arousing suspicion.

Earlier this year the police launched a national campaign urging the public to report suspicious activity to an antiterror hotline. In the past six months the number of tip-offs has increased by 600 per cent.