Speaking at his weekly press conference Mayor of London Ken Livingstone issued the following statement concerning the weekend’s terrorist incidents:
“I have been speaking to the Prime Minister, the First Minister of Scotland, and Sir Ian Blair since the discovery of the attempted bombing in London last Friday morning.
I want, first, once more to congratulate the police on the extraordinarily professional job they have done working with the other emergency services. Also members of the public have played a key role both in discovering the threat in London and in dealing with the attack in Glasgow.
This co-operation is the most vital protection we all have. ‘Therefore the two things what I want to emphasise to Londoners today are vigilance and the importance of co-operation with the police.
Terrorism is ultimately defeated not by sheer police numbers but by the intelligence supplied to the police – as we have recently been reminded in trials of blocked terrorist attempts.
It is for this reason that vigilance and the supply of information to the police are the most important assets we have to meet this and any future threats.
Londoners will see an extra police presence at key locations this week and at the weekend. I would like to stress that this is not in response to any specific threat but is a routine precaution and for public reassurance.
In line with this I would like to echo the words of the First Minister of Scotland that these criminal actions are carried out by individuals not communities.
I note that every responsible and mainstream Muslim organisation in Britain, including the broadest, the Muslim Council of Britain, have completely condemned what one Muslim organisation rightly called this ‘sinister plot’ and called for all members of the community to come forward and assist the police. This is exactly what is required. Every act of bigotry will necessarily lead to a drying up of information which is the police’s most vital requirement and therefore endanger us all.
The Metropolitan police have reviewed the security arrangements for the major events taking place this weekend such as the start of the Tour de France and the Live Earth concert. These will be proceeding as planned.
Thank you and I will now take questions. As you will understand I will not comment on any aspect of the extremely rapidly developing police enquiry.”
