A vital question to debate this week

IT IS entirely right that Labour and the Conservatives should be battling for your trust on security and policing in the final days of this election campaign.

This is democracy in action as citizens across the country reflect on the spate of terrorist outrages that have brought sorrow to so many families.

The UK is facing a distinct and lethal terrorist threat. Tackling this scourge will be a priority for whoever gains a mandate as Prime Minister in Thursday’s election.

Eliminating this particular terror threat will require action by different branches of government and cooperation with the devolved administrations. Police and the security services will have a vital role to play, but addressing this danger means preventing further radicalisation, and this will involve sectors ranging from higher education to social services.

The horrific phenomenon of how individuals are gripped by an ideology which compels them to butcher innocent people needs to be understood if it is to be halted. Internet companies will have to face up to their responsibilities and we need the sharpest-minded MPs to scrutinise all legislation to ensure the right balance is struck between protecting us and guarding civil liberties.

There are also vital discussions to be had as to how the UK should use force overseas to fight terrorists, and whether long-standing international allies are doing enough to ensure that extremists in their territory are not coordinating and funding violence and radicalisation in the UK.

Such challenges deserve the fullest possible discussion and it is proper that candidates are debating these issues right now.

Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn has accused Theresa May of a presiding over a 19,000 fall in police numbers while Home Secretary and is backing calls for her to resign. Meanwhile, Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns has questioned Mr Corbyn’s support for allowing police to “shoot to kill”.

None of these vital debates will be concluded by Thursday. Instead, we will choose men and women who will go to Westminster to debate on our behalf, to examine every line of new laws and to weigh the consequences of every decision for our security and our freedom.

All of us will still have a duty to think hard about how the best aspects of our society can be protected. This is not just about stopping acts of murder, crucial though this is, but how we can stop the spread of toxic fear and distrust in our own neighbourhoods.

The aim of terrorists is divide our nations, to weaken our freedoms and to shatter our confidence. Their commitment to their creed of hate is clear.

We must demonstrate even stronger commitment to the values we clung to when we confronted other forms of fascism in past decades. We will not let go of a society in which we love our neighbours instead of fearing them.

Extremists fear that the tolerance which defines our culture will spread to other nations. We will keep justice and liberty shining.