Following the most recent Islamist terrorist attack in England, British Prime Minister Theresa May held a speech declaring that things need to change. In order to counter the constant terrorist threats and attacks, she stated: “We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are. Things need to change and they need to change in four important ways.”
These include fighting against the extremist Islamist ideology, more so than before, as May claims there has been “far too much tolerance of extremism in our country." She also called for taking away their “safe spaces” online and in British communities, as well as their retreats in Britain and other countries. Furthermore, she wants to strengthen the police force.
Regarding the Islamist ideology, May stated: “It is an ideology that claims our Western values of freedom, democracy, and human rights are incompatible with the religion of Islam. It is an ideology that is a perversion of Islam and a perversion of the truth. Defeating this ideology is one of the great challenges of our time, but it cannot be defeated by military intervention alone.” She went on to explain that she believes it can only be defeated by turning people’s minds away from violence and making them understand British values instead.
Britain’s General Election will not be delayed as a result of the attacks, since, as May declared “[…] campaigns will resume in full tomorrow and the General Election will go ahead as planned on Thursday.”
The London Bridge Attack occurred mere weeks after the Manchester Arena Bombing - and a few months after the Westminster Bridge Attack in March. These are not the only terrorist attacks in Europe this year - by far. Prime Minister May stated that, since the Westminster incident, five more credible plans for terrorist attacks had been thwarted by police forces in Britain alone.
