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Updated 6.25pm
BRITISH, IRISH AND world leaders have condemned last night’s terror attack in central London, reacting with both outrage and solidarity.
Seven people died as a result of the attack and dozens more were injured, some seriously.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the incident was “a deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners and visitors to our city enjoying their Saturday night,” adding: “There is no justification whatsoever for such barbaric acts.”
Speaking outside No 10 Downing Street this morning, British Prime Minister Theresa May said: “We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are, things need to change…
There is far too much tolerance of extremism in our country.
May said the three terrorist attacks the UK has experienced in the last three months – two in London and one in Manchester – are not connected but highlight a new trend, noting: “Terrorism breeds terrorism.”
She described the ideology of Islamist extremism behind the attacks is a “perversion of Islam” and said defeating it is “one of the great challenges of our time”.
As a mark of respect, the main political parties are suspending general election campaigning today. However, May said campaigning will resume tomorrow and the election will go ahead as planned on Thursday, adding that attacks like this cannot disrupt the democratic process.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted about the “brutal and shocking incidents” and thanked the emergency services who responded.
Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan also condemned the “cowardly and barbaric attacks”.
For the second time in two weeks, the ordinary people of the UK have been subjected to cowardly and barbaric attacks. Ireland stands with the UK and condemns these acts utterly.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation. Anyone who has serious concerns about loved ones in London can contact my Department in Dublin on 01 408 2000, or the Irish Embassy in London on 00 44 207 235 2171.”
The Irish Embassy in London is monitoring the situation, but it’s not believed any Irish people were caught up in the attack.
‘Important to be prepared’
Fine Gael leader and Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar has indicated he intends to establish a Cabinet-level committee on national security similar to the Cobra committee in the UK, which deals with major crises such as terrorism.
Ireland’s security status has not changed but a spokesperson for Varadkar said:
Although Ireland is not at high risk of a terrorist attack, it is important to be prepared for every eventuality.
The new committee would allow greater ministerial involvement in preparing for and managing major security threats, and more extensive cross-departmental cooperation on these issues.
Varadkar said the fact the London attack came so soon after the Manchester bombing “only adds to the horror”.
“Once again innocent people have been targeted in the most craven and horrific manner. We extend our solidarity to the people of the UK and condemn this incident in the strongest possible terms,” Varadkar said.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s This Week, Flanagan said an attack is “unlikely” to happen in Ireland, but we must remain vigilant.
We don’t have any direct evidence of any threat here for Ireland in terms of our national security but, of course, we’re by no means immune, we’re by no means exempt. Our threat level is currently moderate.
Flanagan said he is “absolutely confident that the Garda Siochána, at every level, are fully in control of the situation here, the sharing of the intelligence internationally and obviously securing the State here from a national perspective”.
He said Ireland will continue to work with Britain and other European countries in tackling violent extremism.
“It’s absolutely essential that we use every possible resource to cover every possible angle, and cyber security is of course an issue and this was an issue that was discussed at the most recent meeting of the National Security Committee.
“We have an ongoing review of strategy, our national strategy. Our international engagement does not remain static or constant, but it is reviewed on an ongoing basis across a range of government departments and we’re very much on top of things here.”
In a statement released this morning, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: “We utterly condemn the cowardly attack in London last night and reject the warped motives and world view behind them. This is sheer madness.
“Ireland will continue to work exceptionally closely with the UK and all of our colleagues on security matters and prevention as far as possible. ”
The attack was also condemned by Tánasite and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, who said: ”Last night’s attack in London is another depraved and cowardly attack on innocent people. Our first thoughts are with the families of those killed and with the injured victims.
I have spoken this morning with the Garda Commissioner who briefed me on developments. The garda authorities remain in close contact with their counterparts in London and will offer whatever support they can.
In a statement, President Michael D Higgins said: “This latest terrible attack in London will be rightly condemned by all those who believe in the rights of our public to live their lives in the public space.
To our neighbours in the United Kingdom I send the sympathy and support of the Irish people, and in particular the heartfelt sympathy to the families of those who have lost their lives, and our thoughts and wishes for such recovery as is possible to the injured and their families.
The attack was condemned across the political spectrum, with Fianna Fáil leader describing it as “a callous attack on people who were simply enjoying life”, while Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said: “I offer my sincere condolences to the victims and the families of those killed and injured and to the people of London.”
Shaykh Dr Muhammad Umar Al-Qadri, chair of the Irish Muslim Peace & Integration Council, tweeted that “real Muslims” were praying last night, ”not killing innocent people”.
Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri / Twitter
Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri / Twitter / Twitter
‘We will be there’
US President Donald Trump said the country would do “whatever” it could to “help out in London”.
The US State Department called the assaults “cowardly attacks targeting innocent civilians” and added: “The United States stands ready to provide any assistance authorities in the United Kingdom may request.”
US pop star Ariana Grande, whose concert in Manchester two weeks ago was the scene of a deadly suicide bombing in which 22 people were killed, tweeted: “Praying for London.”
World leaders
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “We are united in terror and sadness, but just as decisively … In the fight against all forms of terrorism, we stand firmly and decisively at the side of Great Britain.”
Leaders from around the world tweeted statements about the attack, including First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian President Justin Trudeau, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English.
Macron tweeted: “In the face of this new tragedy, France is more than ever at Britain’s side. My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones.”
Contains reporting from © AFP 2017
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A great leader.
When history is written he’ll go down as one of the best Presidents of the United States.
@Faughanside: only if he writes the history book!
@Faughanside: the way he’s going, we’ll be lucky if we even get to reflect on him once he’s gone. The man is a shambles. I feel bad for all the gullible poor who believe his lies and rethoric. He’s only in it to enrich himself, his buddies and his family at their expense.
@Faughanside: that is what was said about Adolf Hitler ,another ego maniac that caused incredible harm in the world.
@Terry Cahill: ah come on now. Hardly comparable.
@Maximus Decimus Meridius: Only WHEN he has someone Ghostwrite it.
Trump has been a brilliant president. Where else do you see any leader follow through with any election promises.
@Mumpsimus: he promised that Mexico would pay for it!
@Maximus Decimus Meridius: don’t bother. Likely a troll or someone willfully ignoring the facts. I’d like to see how happy this commenter would be if Leo came stomping in to power shouting that the British would be paying for some red herring, only to then turn around and make us pay.
@Mumpsimus: What exactly did he follow through with apart from a terrible golf swing??
He’s off to get a spray tan for his big speech!
@Darren Caffrey: He doesn’t need to. The orange glow from this man’s skin is comprised entirely from 100% Stupid.
It’s worth building it for child trafficking alone. There are around 10,000 children trafficked across the border each year in both directions. Child sex trafficking is real people. Fence, wall….get on with it.
@Shane Dignam: he should just get the military to build it. He’s pulling troops home, and if he uses the military to build it he can bypass Congressand put those soldiers to work. Every country has the right to determine who comes in.
@Shane Dignam: human trafficking is a serious issue but there is no way to put a number on it. You have a perfectly legitimate point. There is no need to make up a number.
@Dave O’Keeffe: That’s why I said ‘around 10,000’. There are many estimates that range everywhere from 5,000 to over 15,000. Nobody knows for sure, you’re right on that but 10,000 is a reasonable estimate based on the figures available. These children are not immigrants, they are sex slaves for the most part. It’s totally abhorrent and everyone needs to do whatever it takes to stop it. Dem’s should give Trump his Wall and in return Trump should give ‘dreamers’ citizenship. That’s a win/win for both sides and nobody loses face. Fair enough???
@Vote4Pedro: better yet, bring all of them home and get them to act as a human wall. Unarmed 9f course as otherwise it would be dodgy
@Shane Dignam: “it’s worth building for child trafficking alone” <- how would it stop the child trafficking ?
@Shane Dignam: he rejected that when it was put to him, twice
@Holidays Are Coming: Well they can’t exactly load them on planes and fly them in.
@Shane Dignam: How would a wall stop child trafficking at the Mexican/US border ?
@Holidays Are Coming: How would you bring them in if not over the land border? Can you think of a better solution.
It won’t stop children from being trafficked across the border,just like it won’t stop drugs from being smuggled across the border.As was said plenty of times on here before,Trump would be much better off spending the $billions on the latest technology,beefing up the security at the many border checkpoints & hiring a lot more immigration judges etc etc.
Take care
@Dave O’Keeffe: Yes he did, but I’m still suggesting he change his mind and compromise. There’s a lot of things about Trump I disagree with and this is one of them. These people are already living there, been educated there and are paying taxes etc. I’m hopeful he will change his mind on this.
@Holidays Are Coming: Here’s an excerpt from an interview between a National Public Radio host and US Border Patrol Agents Union leader Brandon Judd.
Host: So how different is the border going to be assuming that the president’s orders are carried out here?
JUDD: I don’t think it’s going to be – well, OK, it’s going to be a lot more secure. But what we’re talking about is we’re talking about a wall in strategic locations. We’re not talking about a great wall of the United States. We’re not talking about a continuous wall from California down to Texas. We’re talking about a wall in strategic locations which then helps the Border Patrol agents do their job better.
Host: So you’ve told us when you were on the program last time that about 10 to 15 percent of the border has serious fences in your view and maybe you’d double that under this proposal.
JUDD: That’s what I’m thinking. Again, I don’t have the exact specifics of what they’re going to do, but I do know that they’re looking in specific places like Laredo, Texas, where we have very, very little walls. Yet, the state that Laredo, Texas, borders is extremely violent. And so we’re looking in locations like that. They’re looking in locations like that, but I think it’s going to be very effective.
What have you made of the really visceral response to this, the negative response to this from many people in the United States as well as from Mexico?
JUDD: Well, I can understand, but you – but, Steve, you have to understand there’s a lot of rhetoric out there and a lot of what’s being put out there – I mean, I’ve heard that this is a racist wall. This isn’t a racist wall. We’re not talking about keeping out legal immigrants. We’re talking about keeping out illegal immigrants, and it has nothing to do with race because we get people from all – from everywhere. We get people from Russia who are white that cross the border illegally. And so this isn’t a racist wall. This is about the security and safety of the United States.
@Shane Dignam: Seriously,lad ? That guy is based up in Montana,so what would he know about the Mexican/US border.Yourself & Pedro should listen to what the Texans themselves have to say about it : https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article152402734.html
@Shane Dignam: so the guy in charge of keeping the border agents in jobs says it won’t be a complete wall and won’t therefore mean massive layoffs for those he represents
@Holidays Are Coming: It’s his job to know as he’s head of the union and knows what his agents think. Also how old is that article you posted. It’s talking about a 2000 mile continuous wall. Of course that would upset some Texans, but that’s not what is being proposed. It will only be in strategic locations. Hence why $5 billion will cover it. Most Texans will not oppose that.
@Dave O’Keeffe: Your point being?
A joke about trump , how orginal!
@Jonathan Byrne: you’re right no need to joke about a joke.
@Hans Vos: or maybe it’s like beating a dead horse,
Everyone should be concerned that this “Liar” has so much power…If he can tell lies to a nation on live T.V. and those around him just nod and smile no checks on him,he is possibly one of the most dangerous men in history…
@Dave Walsh: any facts to back up Ur claim?
@Cryptoalcho: How do you charge the phone battery in that cave.
@Cryptoalcho: all the lies he tells constantly are the evidence.
His next step will be to change laws to prolong his term. He constantly hints at a 16 year presidency and praises China and Russia for the length of time their heads are in power.
@Keith Fay: It’s official, you’ve lost the plot.
@Shane Dignam: You lost the plot when you said that the wall was worth building for child trafficking alone ..
@Holidays Are Coming: So in your mind it’s ok that $60 billion per annum is spent on Afghanistan but $5 billion to protect thousands of innocent children from sex slavery is losing the plot. Maybe you should take a good hard look at yourself if that’s what you think. And stay away from children if you have such little empathy for them. I suppose you’re a big fan of Justice Ginsburg who wants the age of consent dropped to 12.
@Shane Dignam:What a load of emotional-laden bs that you put up there.Wow!
Explain how a $5 billion wall will ‘protect thousands of innocent children from being sexually/physically & emotionally abused by the Trump administration.Oops! My bad.
How will that $5b ‘spent on a wall’ stop the thousands of children from being trafficked across the border? Do you know anything about the border checkpoints ?
@Holidays Are Coming: they don’t bring them in through border checkpoints and well you know it. If you want to have a reasonable conversation about child sex trafficking (which is an emotional topic in case you didn’t realize), do some basic research first.
@Shane Dignam: Nope, there are lots of videos of him blatantly saying this at press conferences. you should keep up with the news and stop telling people they’ve lost the plot. ffs.
@Keith Fay: He constantly hints at a 16 year presidency? That would be awful but I’d like you to back up your claim. If he has constantly been hinting at a ‘16 year’ presidency you should have no problem providing several samples of this from different occasions. Thanks.
@Shane Dignam: I do enjoy having these discussions Shane.Here is something for you to digest over your din dins ;the majority (80%) of children/adults that are trafficked & sold for sex/work in and around the border,they would be American citizens.So what would spending billions on a stupid wall do to protect them ?
@Holidays Are Coming:America holds the title of “2nd highest destination in the world for trafficked women” (Wiehl, 2010). Between 14,500 & 17,500 victims are trafficked into the US each year. In most cases the average age of the prostitute or exploited victim is between 12 and 13 years old. A study from the University of Pennsylvania estimated that nearly 300,000 youth were at risk of being sexually exploited for commercial uses and many of them who are forced into performing sexual acts by their pimps are as young as 5 and 6 years old.
I suppose 14,500 and 17,500 is not enough for you. So how many trafficked people do you need to see crossing the border before you feel extra protection is needed? I know I could go on about this all day to you but I won’t change your mind, so good luck.
@Shane Dignam:The important part to that study,which you conveniently left out, was that the majority of those kids were American citizens whom were neglected by their parents/foster careers …tsk!tsk!
*carers
@Holidays Are Coming: I had a note that I added into the text myself for you next to where it talks about the 300,000. I had to delete it as I ran over the word count. The 300,000 are what you are talking about I presume. They are Americans and I never said they weren’t. I left it in the excerpt as I didn’t want to remove it and it was obvious from the excerpt that these were Americans. I put the note in so you wouldn’t try and go off on one about the majority, which you did you sad man. That does not change anything, 17,500 kids is still far too many. It sickens me to even have to talk to a hate filled enabler like you who can’t see common sense through your hate for one man. I’m sure though if Obama or whoever decided to strengthen the border you’d be all for it.
@Shane Dignam: this is my first result of a google search, do the rest yourself, there are many others incidents. michael moore put all the clips together in his latest documentary so check that out to, again, save you searching yourself: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/17/trump-term-new-yorker-last-phase-presidency
@Shane Dignam: Oh, go away with your ‘enabler’ bs.All that I’m doing is providing you with the facts,kiddo.And those facts are that the ‘wall’ won’t be stopping human traffickers from trafficking people across the border.
ps;The only despicable one on here,would be you,for using children as an excuse to spend billions on a stupid wall.Shame on you!
@Holidays Are Coming: Don’t be calling me despicable for caring about what happens these people. I’ve been following the human trafficking story for years and as I have kids I find it deeply disturbing. Maybe you don’t have kids and as a result it’s not a priority for you. Fair enough, I won’t fight about it. We are all entitled to have different opinions on it.
As for these facts you claim to have shown me, what facts, besides an out of date article about a 2000 mile wall that nobody is asking for?
Now let’s just leave it at that. I’m heading out the door now anyway. It was a pleasure and I’m sure we’ll meet again.
Hope he declares an emergency, it’ll be his undoing
@Barry Somers: Mueller will be his undoing. The report is stewing nicely.
@Barry Somers: He’s perfectly
within his rights as President to do so. Why would it be the end of him? It will go to the courts and if the courts say ‘no’ it’s not like she loses his job.
@Patabake Kennedy: Mueller will be his own undoing more likely.
@Barry Somers: how many times have we heard “this will be the end of trump” ?
Quite a lot. He seems to just deflect it all. 3 years people are saying it. He’s still there. First he’s never getting in…. heard that for a year. Believed it myself. Then 2 years of this will be the end of him… nope.
I’m just sick of the guy
@Patabake Kennedy: It can only stew for so long. If anything is found, which it’s unlikely, then the report will be released just in time for the 2020 campaign. Politics at its finest
@PC Principal: That report will be so redacted it will be useful to nobody. Only then we will see the end of this conman.
All this because of the Supreme Court ruling last month that they couldn’t deny asylum based on illegal entry.
Poor poor America !
Let’s see how many lies and bs he can fit in this speech.
Orange man bad
I can’t wait to get a copy of his picture book about his time in the White House. Should be a good ‘read’.
I assume it’s been broadcast on the cartoon network.
This man is at least entertaining. Who cares about his wall.
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