I am deeply saddened by the terrorist attack in Finsbury Park and my thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected.
This was, once again, an attack on innocent Britons going about their daily lives and I am especially appalled by the terrorists’ targeting of the Islamic community. Whilst the perpetrator acted in the name of a different warped ideology to the terrorists who have attacked us the past few months, he shared their goal of dividing the British people and he too, will fail. Tolerance and freedom of religion are the foundations of our society and we must do all we can in the wake of this attack to reinforce these values.
Following the attack the Prime Minister chaired a COBRA meeting and committed extra funding and police protection to mosques across the UK. The Prime Minister also reaffirmed her plan to establish a new Commission for Countering Extremism.
As with the attacks we have experienced before, this event showed us the best and worst of humanity with our emergency services and members of the public doing everything they can to help those in need. I would like to especially pay tribute to those victims at the scene who detained the suspect, and in doing so, prevented the events from escalating further.