Police have declared an attack on London Bridge that moved onto Borough Market as a “terrorist incident”.
The attack started place on London Bridge at around 10pm when a white van drove onto the pavement and ploughed through pedestrians. After the
van crashed into some street furniture, three men then jumped out of the rear of the vehicle and started slashing at innocent civilians with long knives.
Police responded effectively putting their counter terrorism protocol into action and killed the 3 suspects believed to be involved in the attack
within 8 minutes. Their bravery and professionalism is being praised for keeping the death toll so low.
6 people have been confirmed dead after the attack and a further 48 people have been taken to six London hospitals for treatment. A cordon was
enacted by Police around London Bridge and Borough.
Many local hotels and bars have been evacuated through fears for the safety of patrons. Many frightened people have found themselves without shelter
and one report has spoken of a hotel fire alarm resulting in the dispersal of lodgers by Police simply shouting ‘Run.” Those affected are said
to be a a real state of panic and hundreds of people are stranded and finding it difficult to find alternative accommodation at short notice.
Police have warned local people to stay away from the area.
Read BBC updates (click here)
Police have stated that a third incident involving a stabbing in Vauxhall which has been responded to, is not linked to the terrorist attack.
Please sign our petition calling for no further budget cuts or reductions to the UK police service (click here)
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said:
“This latest attack on Londoners just one day before the ‘One Love Manchester Concert’ is an obvious attempt to undermine the solidarity amongst people of Britain. But this only brings us together.
“Three terrorist attacks in only three months provides a worrying sign that Britain must return to ‘Critical’ the highest threat level as I imagine now we can only expect another imminent attack.
“I am used to attacks such as these occurring in Islamic nations such as Pakistan where sectarian schism and religious intolerance has led to frequent bomb attacks, in particular the beleaguered Christian community who have suffered four terrorist attacks in four years.
“However, here in the UK it is always a shock as we simply don’t expect it – our professional security forces thwart most attempted attacks and have up to now been extremely successful with intelligence gathering. [A total of five terrorist attacks were prevented since the Westminster attack (click here).
“Our emergency services have responded immediately and bravely placing themselves at risk to protect the public and deserve great praise.
“However the panic-driven evacuation of local hotels is a worrying practice that has left many people vulnerable, extremely confused and anxious. More must be provided to help hotels beef up their existing security measures and practices ensuring they become safe havens during incidents such as these.
“After the Westminster attack I led a multifaith peace concert inviting key figures from all faiths to help restore peace and community harmony in London. We had an Imam, a Nazi Holocaust Survivor and a Hindu campaigner with many other key faith and secular figures – all uniting against extremism. But few lessons seem to have been learned. (click here)
“Much is being said about the Government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy and the anti-terrorism hotline especially their failure to respond to reports of radicalization from witnesses who implicated Mr Salman Abedi before his suicide attack at Manchester Arena.
“Sadly my experiences with SO15 in recent weeks corroborate the malaise and have left me deflated. Tackling the increasing radicalization of Muslim communities has to become a stronger focus of any counter-terrorism approach. Yet w hen trying to report on a property from which many locals feared extremism was emanating only a few weeks ago, I was met with apathy and disbelief.
“Instead of taking my concerns and adding it to a list of potential leads I found myself attempting to overly justify my concerns and those of others who bravely shared knowledge with me many of whom were Muslim – I felt like I was the criminal. This has lessened my desire to share intelligence in future and I am sure many others will hold similar apprehension – thwarting essential intelligence.
“Police forces that are uber-politically correct and fear being labelled islamophobic will undermine an essential process that would otherwise sift out the real criminals.
“Extra armed Police and the deployment of soldiers on our streets will provide a visible deterrent. However it is imperative that we get to grips with a dire need for more effective intelligence gathering. Moreover the looming threat of increasing radicalization shows no sign of abatement. On the contrary reports of a potential 23,000 jihadists in Britain is a deplorable and frightening statistic (click here).
“It is appalling that Mr Abedi used a student loan and benefits to purchase his bomb components. Despite all the UK gave him he chose violence against innocent people (click here) . Measures should be introduced tracking appropriate use of funds for purposes of furthering education – especially as this is what funds are intrinsically required for.
I will pray for solace for families affected by this latest violent attack and for the quick and wholesome recovery of any survivors.
“I will continue to pray for peace in the UK – we cannot let the extremists ruin the wonderful community cohesion amongst all the people of Britain of diverse origins.”
Please sign our petition calling for no further budget cuts or reductions to the UK police service (click here)
