Prime Minister Theresa May said the U. faces “a new trend” in terrorism, with Islamist attackers inspiring each other, after seven people were killed and 48 injured in a Saturday night rampage in London -- days before the general election.
“Perpetrators are inspired to attack, not only on the basis of carefully-constructed plots after years of planning and training, and not even as lone attackers radicalized online, but by copying one another and often using the crudest means of attack,” May told reporters on Sunday after chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency COBRA committee. “We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are.”
The attack, which began just after 10 p. in a popular nightlife spot, lasted just eight minutes. A van swerved into crowds on London Bridge, before three men got out and went on a stabbing spree through nearby bars. The assault ended when police shot them dead a few hundred yards from where it started.
It’s the third attack in the U. in less than three months. In March, a lone assailant rammed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and then stabbed a police officer outside Parliament. Then two weeks ago, a bomber killed 22 people -- including children -- at a pop concert in Manchester. May said that while the attacks weren’t directly linked, “terrorism breeds terrorism.” In that time, police and security services had disrupted five “credible plots,” she said.
The prime minister said her response would cover four areas:
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said earlier that she believed the incident was now under control. She and the prime minister both paid tribute to civilians who helped to fight off the attackers and assist the wounded.
Most political parties have said they’ll suspend national campaigning for the June 8 general election for the day, though local efforts will go ahead.
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