Saturday’s terror attack in London shows there is “far too much tolerance” of Islamist extremism in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday.
The attack, which killed seven people and injured 48, is the third major attack in the U.K. since late March. May said called for a tougher approach against extremism, saying “enough is enough.” (RELATED: Police: Six Civilians, Three Attackers Dead In London Terror Attacks)
“While we have made significant progress in recent years there is too be frank far too much tolerance of extremism in our country,” May said during a press briefing. “So we need to become far more robust in identifying it and stamping it out across the public sector and across society. That will require some difficult and often embarrassing conversations, but the whole of our country needs to come together to take on this extremism we need to live our lives not in a series of segregated, separated communities, but as one truly United Kingdom.”
The attack is not believed to be linked to the March 22 Westminster attack or the May 22 suicide bombing in Manchester, according to May.
“In terms of their planning and execution, the recent attacks are not connected, but we believe we are experiencing a new trend in the threat we face,” May said. “As terrorism breeds terrorism and 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 of means of attack.”
Campaigning has been temporarily suspended ahead of Thursday’s general election, which will go ahead as planned.
“As a mark of respect the two political parties have suspended our national campaigns for today,” May said. “But violence can never be allowed to disrupt the democratic process, so those campaigns will resume in full tomorrow and the general election will go ahead as planned on Thursday.”
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