Today we will share in a moment of remembrance as we fall silent at noon to honour those who were killed in the abhorrent massacre which took place on the shores of Tunisia a week ago.
Amongst the 38 victims to be killed by the gunman were 30 Brits, including a couple from Wiltshire. I send my deepest condolences to the families and friends of all those who have lost loved ones in what is the most brutal terrorist attack against British people for many years.
Unfortunately, the circumstances of last week are beginning to come all too familiar. The gunman was a radicalised university student who it is thought may have been part of an extreme network inspired by ISIL.
On the very same day of the attacks, we also witnessed a murder in France committed by an Islamic Extremist, as well as a suicide bomb killing 27 people in Kuwait. This is without yet mentioning the hundreds of people that were also killed by ISIL in Syria, also on the same day. Although these events cannot officially be connected, it is clear that this sick ideology is attempting to destroy basic freedoms across the globe.
On Monday, the Prime Minister addressed the House of Commons to outline the immediate response from th UK Government. Quite rightly, the first priority is support the British victims and their families; bringing home Brits who want to return, and sending out medical teams to assist.
Here in the UK, our threat level remains at severe – but we must stand determined as a country to carry on living our lives in spite of this. Practically, we must ensure that our police and security services are given the tools they need to root out this poison. We have already increased funding for our police and intelligence services this year and legislated to give them stronger powers to seize passports and prevent travel. We must also step up our own efforts to support our agencies in tracking vital online communications.
We are also dealing with ISIL at the source - British aircraft are already delivering the second largest number of airstrikes over Iraq and our airborne intelligence and surveillance assets are assisting other countries with their operations over Syria.
Finally, we must confront the evil narrative that is poisoning minds and hijacking the faith of Islam to justify murder. Soon, all public bodies - from schools to prisons to local councils – will be required to take steps to identify and tackle radicalisation. It will take time, but by standing up for our values, we must allow liberty to flourish over fear. Eventually, we can and will defeat the threat of terrorism.
