Theresa May says ‘vile extremism’ won't break UK ahead of Finsbury Park terror attack remembrance
2 min read
Theresa May has said that “vile extremism” will not break the UK ahead of a remembrance service to mark the Finsbury Park terror attack.
Theresa May paid tribute to the victims of the Finsbury Park terror attack, which left one person dead and nine others injured a year ago today.
Father-of-six Makram Ali was killed after Darren Osborne deliberately rammed his van into worshippers in an attack targetting Muslims leaving a North London mosque.
Speaking ahead of the event the Prime Minister said that “vile extremism” would not be allowed to divide the country.
“Last year’s cowardly attack which targeted innocent worshippers leaving Finsbury Park mosque is an attack on all of us”, she said.
“As with all acts of terrorism the intention was to divide us but we will not let this happen.
“We are a country of many faiths and freedom of worship and respect for those of different faiths is fundamental to this country’s values and these values will never be broken by vile extremism”
“The bravery and spirit of the community that apprehended the attacker that night sent a clear message that terrorism will never succeed.”
“As we remember the victims of this attack, Makram Ali who tragically lost his life, we should take strength that it is London’s diversity and multitude of communities that makes it one of the world’s great cities.”
Paying tribute to her father at an earlier event, Mr Ali’s daughter Ruzina Akhtar said: “We’re very happy to be part of this community and to be in this country with such a loving, diverse community around us.
“And we would just like to thank everyone for their support and the love that they’ve shown and hope they continue to do so.”
Mr Osborne, who admitted that he also wanted to kill London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was jailed for a minimum of 48 years after being found guilty of murder.
Several community events have been organised, including a ‘Great Get Together’ – an initiative launched by the family of murdered MP Jo Cox – to mark the one-year anniversary of the attack.
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