MET Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says Britain is well equipped to prevent terrorist attacks similar to those in France and Germany but risk of attacks remained very high
Britain is well equipped to prevent terrorist attacks, but an attack similar to those seen recently in mainland Europe is a question of “when, not if”, London’s police chief said on Sunday.
The warning by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe reflects Britain’s current “severe” threat level for international terrorism and follows a string of attacks in Germany and France, some of which have been linked to Islamic militants.
Hogan-Howe said he was hoping to offer reassurance following a number of attacks in France and Germany, but admitted that he was ultimately limited in doing so by the reality of the situation.
“I know that with each new outrage and especially those on our doorstep in Europe, there is a greater sense of fear that Britain will be the next victim in this wave of cruel and mindless mass murder,” he said.
“I feel and understand that fear and as the police officer in charge of preventing such an attack, [I] know that you want me to reassure you. I am afraid I cannot do that entirely,” he said in a blog posted online on Sunday and printed in the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
“Our threat level has been at ‘severe’ for two years – it remains there. It means an attack is highly likely. You could say it is a case of when, not if.”
Hogan-Howe was speaking in the aftermath of a series of attacks, including four claimed by Islamic State, which have raised public fears about the ability of authorities to protect them. They include the Nice attack on 14 July, when Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, the murder of Father Jacques Hamel, 85, as he celebrated mass in a Normandy church last Tuesday, and attacks in Würzburg and Ansbach in Germany.
The Met commissioner said everyone had watched such incidents with “a terrifying and depressing sense of horror and dread”. However, despite people’s growing concerns, he said there were “lots of things working in our [the UK’s] favour”.
The relationship between MI5, MI6 and police was a “world beater”, Hogan-Howe said, which had helped prevent terror incidents since the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013.
He also pointed to the fact that the UK is an island and has strict gun controls as contributing factors, and referenced “the British way of life and culture”.
“Firstly, the vast majority of our officers are unarmed. I truly believe this gives us a far healthier relationship with the people we police. Our neighbourhood officers – the ones who know their streets, who know their environment and who know many of the names of the people in their communities – are our major weapon. They are our eyes and ears on the street.
“Secondly, it is our tolerance and acceptance. Our approach to Muslims is no different because these attacks purport to be committed in the name of Islam. We don’t stigmatise the millions of British Muslims whose values and faith completely reject the terrorists’ litany of hate,” he said.
“I realise that some of what I am telling you today is not reassuring,” Hogan-Howe said. “I hope that some of it is more so. The threat we all face is very real, no one watching events in Europe can think otherwise. But it is important that we have a shared understanding of the work that goes on every day to stop attacks happening, and to prepare for the time when we are faced with this terrifying threat.”
The Met commissioner ended on a defiant note, urging people to unite to reject the ideology espoused by terrorists. “We will not become like them, we will not hate, we will not be cowed and because of this, they will never win,” he said.
maltatoday.com.mt
