What happened The terror threat
In the wake of the deadly assault on Westminster last week, Home Secretary Amber Rudd summoned Whatsapp, Facebook, Google and other social media companies for talks this week to ask for their cooperation in the fight against terror. Although police believe the perpetrator, Khalid Masood, was acting alone, they are keen to investigate his last communications, which include a Whatsapp message he sent minutes before going on his lethal rampage ( see page 20). Rudd said it was “unacceptable” that firms were providing terrorists with platforms on which they could conspire in secret. Ministers also called on web firms to do more to expunge jihadist propaganda from their sites.
Security measures are being stepped up in response to the attack. A heavily armoured police van is to be permanently stationed by the House of Commons, and extra CCTV installed in public areas around Westminster. A ring of bollards has also been installed outside Buckingham Palace.
What the editorials said
Last week’s outrage – a year to the day after jihadists killed 32 people in Brussels – was “precisely the kind of attack that Britain’s security authorities have been expecting”, said The Economist. But it was also “the kind that is most difficult to prevent”. Ultimately, there’s not much one can do to stop an individual running amok with a car and a knife. A world in which such an attack was “entirely impossible” is not one that any of us would want to live in, said The Guardian. The important thing is that the response to Masood’s assault was “fast and wellrehearsed”. Our best hope of pre-empting future such attacks is through tip-offs from the Muslim community. That means “promoting engagement”, rather than surveillance.
Solidarity is the key to defeating terrorism, agreed The Observer – and there was plenty of it on display last week. “The sacrifice of PC Keith Palmer, who laid down his life keeping MPS and citizens safe; the actions of MP Tobias Ellwood, who performed first aid; the medical staff of St Thomas’ Hospital who ran on to Westminster Bridge to help the wounded” – these are the things that stick in the memory.