Andrew Neil delivers another stirring This Week monologue in wake of Manchester bombing
ANDREW NEIL has caught the mood of the nation once again with an impassioned speech urging politicians to take action over terror.
The BBC presenter was widely praised for his monologue on last night's edition of This Week, calling for a "mature debate" on security policy.
As part of his address to viewers, Mr Neil said that "Muslims are not our enemy" and concluded: "The time for rhetoric is over."
The 68-year-old broadcaster was previously celebrated for his words after the Paris terror attack in 2015, in which he celebrated Western culture and warned jihadists that they would inevitably lose.
Last night, he said that rhetoric should be replaced by action and slammed politicians for refusing to tackle the big issues.
Mr Neil claimed the election campaign had been dominated by "banalities".
He said to viewers: "I won't repeat a version of the remarks I made on this programme in the wake of the Paris and Westminster attacks, though I know some of you were hoping that I would.
"They apply with equal force to what happened on Monday night - even more so, since that involved the deliberate slaughter of the young.
"But perhaps the time for rhetoric is over, and we need to concentrate on what we're going to do about it."
Mr Neil went on to describe the "choreographed response" of grief and defiance which takes place after every terror attack.
He said: "We condemn the barbarity, naturally; our hearts go out to those killed and maimed, the pointless, dreadful loss of life, of course.
"We admire the stoicism of those towns and cities who've endured the full force of evil; we're rightly proud of our brave and professional emergency services; we aver the terrorists will not divide us - and they won't, because that's what they want and they will not have it.
"We know Muslims are not our enemy, and that they have as much to fear from the Islamists in our midst as the rest of us.";
But he concluded by insisting that it was time for a "long-term response" to terror to prevent further atrocities.
Mr Neil said: "Despite horror upon horror, we've yet to have a proper national conversation on what the right long-term response should be, to root out this tiny but deadly cancer that afflicts us.
"Not just the security or military responses, important as they are, but the grass-roots, community, local responses that would stop this evil flourishing in the first place or at least nip it in the bud.
"The election campaign begins again tomorrow. Is it too much to ask that in the two weeks till polling day, those who would govern us do not return to the banalities that have characterised some of this election so far, and begin instead a mature debate on what is literally life and death?"
Viewers were delighted with Mr Neil's words - radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer tweeted: "Once again, @afneil nails it."
Author Phillip Blond added: "No choreographed response and no more banalities but a serious discussion on what we do about stopping this terror."
Other members of the public praised his "meaningful and eloquent" speech and described it as a "prudent call to action".
Mr Neil was supposed to be interviewing every major party leader this week, but after he grilled Theresa May on Monday the other programmes were delayed because of the Manchester attack.
He interviews Jeremy Corbyn tonight, while Nicola Sturgeon, Paul Nuttall and Tim Farron will be featured in coming days.
The Labour and Tory campaigns are set to restart today, with Mrs May in Italy for the G7 summit and Mr Corbyn set to make a speech blaming Western foreign policy for inspiring terrorists.
The police probe into Manchester bomber Salman Abedi continues as officials try to find his accomplices and prevent any further attacks.