Theresa May calls Finsbury Park mosque terror attack ‘every bit as sickening’ as other terrorist outrages
THERESA May has declared that London will “never give in to hate” as she vowed to pursue a clampdown on extremism of all kinds.
The Prime Minister called the Finsbury Park mosque attack “every bit as sickening” as the London Bridge and Westminster atrocities.
And she said the capital’s third attack in three months was designed to “destroy” the bonds that unite Britain — including freedom to worship.
During a visit to the mosque, she said the victims of the attack were “the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives”.
But she insisted London was “an extraordinary city of extraordinary people”.
She also said it was “diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate”.
Mrs May said Britain has been too tolerant as “extremism and hatred take many forms — including Islamophobia”.
The Prime Minister spoke following another emergency Cobra meeting this morning - after a 48-year-old man was arrested when a hired van was driven into Muslim worshippers leaving a mosque after late-night prayers.
One man has been killed and ten others injured in the attack - which is being treated as terrorism.
Police arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder - who will also be subjected to a mental health assessment in due course.
The attacker reportedly screamed "kill me, kill all Muslims" as hero bystanders tackled him to the ground before police arrived to arrest him.
The wounded pedestrians are being treated in the three separate hospitals while two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
And this morning the PM said the attack "once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives."
She said outside No 10: "This morning our country woke to news of another attack on the streets of our capital city.
"We will come together to condemn this act and to say once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed.
"Terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms and our determination to tackle them must be the same."
She revealed that police were on the scene in just ONE minute - and it was declared a terrorist incident in just eight.
Extra police have already been deployed in the areas, she said, and vowed that "we will stop at nothing to defeat" terrorism.
Mrs May said the attack came at a "difficult time for our city" and repeated promises to crack down on giving extremists space on the internet to spread their views.
She went on: "All terrorism shares the same fundamental goal, it seeks to drive us apart. We will not let this happen.
"What we have seen throughout, whether in the heroism of ordinary citizens who fought off the attackers at London Bridge, the unbreakable resolve of residents in Kensington, or this morning the spirit of the community which apprehended this attacker...
"This is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people. Diverse, welcoming, vibrant, confident, determined never to give in to hate. These are the values that define this city, these are the values that define this country.
"These are the values that this government will uphold. These are the values that will prevail."
This is the third time in three months that a van has been used to drive into and kill pedestrians - after the Westminster attack in March killed four and the London Bridge incident just a few weeks ago.
Last night's incident follows the Great Get Together weekend - where communities joined together for over 110,000 events to celebrate the life of the late Jo Cox MP, who was killed by a right-wing extremist last year.
Theresa May's full Downing Street speech
This morning, our country woke to news of another terrorist attack on the streets of our capital city: the second this month and every bit as sickening as those which have come before.
It was an attack that once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives – this time British Muslims as they left a Mosque having broken their fast and prayed together at this sacred time of year.
Today we come together - as we have done before – to condemn this act and to state once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed.
The Government’s Emergency Committee, COBRA, has just met and I can set out what we know about what happened, and the steps that we are taking to respond.
Just after twenty-past midnight, the Metropolitan Police received reports that a van had been driven into a crowd of people on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park.
Officers were in the immediate vicinity as the attack unfolded and responded within one minute.
Police declared it a terrorist incident within eight minutes.
One man was pronounced dead at the scene; eight injured were taken to three separate hospitals; while two were treated at the scene for more minor injuries.
The driver of the van - a white man aged 48 - was bravely detained by members of the public at the scene and then arrested by police.
The early assessment by the police is that the attacker acted alone.
Our thoughts and prayers this morning are with the family and friends of the man who died and those who were injured.
On behalf of the people of London – and the whole country – I want to thank the police and the emergency services once again for responding as they always do with great professionalism and courage.
Extra police resources have already been deployed to reassure communities, and the police will continue to assess the security needs of Mosques and provide any additional resources needed, especially during this final week before Eid Al-Fitr, a particularly important time for the whole Muslim community.
This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship. And like all terrorism, in whatever form, it shares the same fundamental goal.
It seeks to drive us apart; and to break the precious bonds of solidarity and citizenship that we share in this country.
We will not let this happen.
When I stood here for the first time as Prime Minister last Summer I spoke about our precious belief in the Union – not just the bond between the four nations of the United Kingdom – but the bond between all our citizens, every one of us, whoever we are and wherever we are from.
At the heart of that bond is a belief in the fundamental freedoms and liberties that we all cherish; the freedom of speech; the freedom to live how we choose and yes, the freedom to practice religion in peace.
This morning we have seen a sickening attempt to destroy those freedoms; and to break those bonds of citizenship that define our United Kingdom.
It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms; and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible.
As I said here two weeks ago, there has been far too much tolerance of extremism in our country over many years – and that means extremism of any kind, including Islamophobia.
That is why this Government will act to stamp out extremist and hateful ideology – both across society and on the internet, so it is denied a safe space to grow.
It is why we will be reviewing our Counter-Terrorism strategy and ensuring that police and security services have the powers they need.
And it is why we will establish a new Commission for Countering Extremism as a statutory body to help fight hatred and extremism in the same way as we have fought racism – because this extremism is every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life and we will stop at nothing to defeat it.
Today’s attack falls at a difficult time in the life of this city, following on from the attack on London Bridge two weeks ago – and of course the unimaginable tragedy of Grenfell Tower last week, on which I will chair another meeting of Ministers and officials later today.
But what we have seen throughout – whether in the heroism of the ordinary citizens who fought off the attackers at London Bridge; the unbreakable resolve of the residents in Kensington; or this morning the spirit of the community that apprehended this attacker – is that this is an extraordinary city of extraordinary people.
It is home to a multitude of communities that together make London one of the greatest cities on earth.
Diverse, welcoming, vibrant, compassionate, confident and determined never to give in to hate.
These are the values that define this city.
These are the values that define this country.
These are the values that this government will uphold.
These are the values that will prevail.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose constituency the attack took place in, said he was "shocked" at the attack, and called it "horrific and cruel".
He added, speaking at the scene this morning: "These are people who I have represented for more than 35 years. I know many of them extremely well. And I feel their pain today and I feel their stress today. We have to all reach out and feel their pain and their stress.
"This morning people who were just frightened, were just frightened that something like this could happen again. We obviously need efficient and effective policing we obviously need an attitude in our society of support for each other.
"An attack on a mosque, an attack on a synagogue, an attack on a church, is actually an attack on all of us. We have to protect each other’s faith each other’s way of life. That’s what makes us a strong society and community."
And Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said that "whatever resources are necessary" to reassure the community, would be provided.
He said the attack was "despicable" and the attacker's "sole purpose was to try and divide society. That will fail. These perpetrators will never succeed.
"I want people to feel as safe and secure as possible. Extra patrols, more visible policing... I want to give reassurance."
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the attack would be treated as a terrorist incident, and that Government would help provide funding for mosques and other places of worship to keep them safe.
She said: "Londoners have been hit with a series of attacks and have actually been nothing short of heroic. We will always make sure that everybody is protected."
London mayor Sadiq Khan said extra police had been deployed to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan, and blasted the attack as "an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect".