Helen Grant MP

The Paris attacks last Friday were a stepchange moment for the global community and have affected virtually everyone I have spoken with. The civilian security debate has also shifted to a new plane in both the West and the East.

Obama and Putin so genuinely engaging over a coffee table at the Turkey G20 summit spoke volumes. It was a strange but comforting sight.

What is our country doing to protect its citizens? The government has already announced provision for an additional 1,900 officers (+15%) in our intelligence services to spot and combat terrorism before atrocities are committed.

Responding to the recent Sharm el-Sheik aircraft bombing, the government is also doubling funding for aviation security over this Parliament.

And the Home Office’s ‘Prevent’ strategy – http://bit.ly/1MRLjnH – is also in place to help avoid British residents becoming radicalised by extremists within our own shores.

Going forward I think new inroads could be made if regular two-way communication can be sustained between the police service and the communities where radicalisation is taking place, and not just with their leaders. If trust can be built between officers and younger people, mothers and wise older people, helpful dialogue would inevitably follow.

And we, as individuals, also need to raise our game. We need to be more alert to the suspicious and be prepared to report matters of national security to MI5, www.mi5. gov.uk

I heard a report of one French lady receiving a direct warning of an imminent attack in Paris but dismissed it as a nasty rumour. She only went to the police after Friday’s carnage. Hopefully we can all learn from that.