Brave band of terror survivors including Lee Rigby’s widow Becky call on public to help them combat extremism

A BRAVE band of terror attack survivors are calling on the public to help them combat extremism.

The group, which includes people caught up in the Manchester Arena atrocity, say more must be done to “take on the evil” that has claimed so many lives.

In an open letter, members including Becky Rigby, 35 – the widow of soldier Lee Rigby, who was murdered on a London street in May 2013 – issue a clarion call on how to stop the extremists before they strike.

The group say: “With just two days to go until the anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack, which also marks the murder five years ago of Fusilier Lee Rigby, we would like to ask the public, as well as honouring those we have lost, to think about how you can become part of the solution to terror.

“We are a group of survivors of terrorism. Some of us were injured ourselves, others have lost loved ones. In all cases, the scars of those moments are deep.

“As we know from our own experience, terrorists have targeted the innocent regardless of faith, ethnicity or politics, for generations.

“Our members have lost loved ones to nationalists, Islamists and far-right extremists.

“What binds these extremists together is not any particular belief.

“It is the hatred of people not like them and the willingness to use violence against innocent civilians.

“It is this we must take on and defeat. When terror hits, we all feel an impotent rage. We all want to help the victims and take on the evil that drives the attacks – but how?”

The letter is signed by more than 40 relatives of terror victims who have lost loved ones to groups including IS and the IRA.

Signatories include Dan Hett, whose brother Martyn, 29, died in the Manchester Arena attack, and Gina Van Dort, 32, who was shot in the face and lost her husband Chris Dyer, 32, in the Tunisian beach attack of 2015.

Their aims include:

• Refusing to give terrorists the notoriety they crave,
• Helping the victims of terror attacks,
• Getting social media organisations such as YouTube to shut down hate sites,
• Challenging hatred wherever the public sees it.

The letter adds: “Hatred is the sea terrorists need to swim in. If we take on that hatred, we dry up that sea.”