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| Theresa May: ‘We are not afraid and our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism.’ Photograph: Reuters |
Theresa May told MPs “our values will prevail” as she delivered a defiant statement to a packed House of Commons on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the terrorist attack on Westminster.
May insisted parliament – and the United Kingdom – would not be cowed by the attacks, and the public would continue with their daily life. “Let this be the message from this house and this nation today: our values will prevail”, she said.
The prime minister warmly paid tribute to PC Keith Palmer, the police officer who lost his life defending parliament, and the other victims who were killed and injured when a terrorist drove his vehicle across Westminster Bridge, ploughing into pedestrians.
“PC Palmer had devoted his life to the service of his country. He had been a member of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command for 15 years, and a soldier in the Royal Artillery before that. He was a husband and a father, killed doing a job he loved. He was every inch a hero. And his actions will never be forgotten.”
And she thanked her colleague, Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood, who battled to try to save Palmer’s life.
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| MP Tobias Ellwood listens to speeches in Parliament the morning after an attack in Westminster. Photograph: Reuters |
But the message that ran through May’s statement, which was warmly welcomed by MPs from across the political spectrum, was that the public, while being “utterly vigilant”, “must not, and will not be cowed”, by Wednesday’s attack.
“Yesterday an act of terrorism tried to silence our democracy. But today we meet as normal, as generations have done before us and as future generations will continue to do, to deliver a simple message: we are not afraid and our resolve will never waver in the face of terrorism. And we meet here in the oldest of all parliaments because we know democracy and the values it entails will always prevail,” the prime minister said.
She solemnly listed the nationalities of those injured, underlining the global nature of London, and its visitors. “In addition to 12 Britons admitted to hospital, we know the victims include three French children, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one German, one Pole, one Irish, one Chinese, one Italian, one American and two Greeks,” she said.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, was sitting in the public gallery of the chamber to hear May’s statement, and rose to show his support when the Speaker, John Bercow, called him. The prime minister thanked the French government for its solidarity.
Many MPs spent much of Wednesday penned in the parliamentary estate – including about 300 in the chamber of the House of Commons itself – as the police secured the area.
The prime minister said the assault had been carried out by a single, British-born individual, whose identity was known to the police and MI5, and who had been a “peripheral figure” in a previous investigation.
As she delivered the statement, police helicopters hovered overhead, and a police cordon remained in place around Westminster; but MPs from across the political spectrum were determined to show that they were continuing with business as usual.
May confirmed, as she said in her statement on Wednesday evening, that the terrorist threat level would not be increased as a result of the incident.
The threat level to the UK has been set at “severe” – meaning an attack is highly likely – for some time. This is the second highest threat level. The highest level, “critical”, means there is specific intelligence that an attack is imminent. As there was no such intelligence, the independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre had decided that the threat level would not change in the light of Wednesday’s attack, she said.
The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, responded to the prime minister’s statement, saying: “What happened yesterday was an appalling atrocity. Today, we are united by our humanity, by our democratic values and by that human impulse for solidarity to stand together in times of darkness and adversity.”
Conservative MP James Cleverly tearfully paid tribute to Palmer, whom he had first known well as a gunner in the Royal Artillery. Cleverly asked the prime minister to consider formally honouring his bravery.
“He was a strong, professional public servant and it was a delight to meet him here again only a few months after being elected. Would my right honourable friend the prime minister in recognition of the work that he did and the other police officers and public servants in the house do consider recognising his gallantry and sacrifice formally with a posthumous recognition?”
May appeared emotional herself as she replied, saying, “I thank my honourable friend for the obvious, not just compassion, but passion that he has given about an individual he knew ... having served in our armed forces and then come here to this place and paid the ultimate sacrifice here at our heart of democracy, I can assure my hon friend that the issue he’s raised is, of course, one that will be considered in due course.”
theguardian
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