After ISIS took credit for a knife and vehicle attack in Britain killing four innocent people on Wednesday, London mayor Sadiq Khan offered words of sympathy, but critics are focusing their ire on a controversial statement that he made last year about terror attacks being ‘part and parcel of living in a big city.’
The attack was allegedly committed by Khalid Masood, a UK native with a criminal record called by ISIS to be “a soldier of the Islamic State.” Police believe Masood’s killing spree was an act of terrorism, according to an ABC News report. In a post-attack statement, Khan urged vigilance.
Khan encouraged Londoners to “be prepared for these sorts of things” by “being vigilant, having a police force that is in touch with communities, it means the security services being ready, but it also means exchanging ideas and best practice.” These words may be comforting, but Khan’s rhetoric rings hollow after examining the policies that he has advocated for many years as a public figure.
Khan is one of the loudest proponents of the refugee resettlement program that is causing crime to spike throughout Europe. Khan has also been silent on the issue of expanding firearm rights for Britons. Perhaps terror attacks would not be ‘part and parcel’ of British life if government resources were not focused toward importing potential radicals from war-zones, and residents were legally allowed to defend themselves.
Former United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage offered a different perspective than Khan’s after the attacks, saying, “When our Government – or perhaps, the American government – decides to ban people from taking laptops on aeroplanes or tries to put restrictions and vetting on people coming into their country from other parts of the world. They’re not doing it because they are bad people, they are doing it because they genuinely are trying to make us safer.”
