As Mrs May said yesterday, ‘terrorism breeds terrorism’ and, in France, Belgium, Germany and Sweden, as well as here, law enforcement agencies are struggling to cope. The numbers of young men involved, their lack of previous terror convictions and the sheer randomness of the targets has created a policing nightmare.
On Saturday, the speed of the Scotland Yard response was truly extraordinary. Just eight minutes after receiving the first emergency call, armed officers had shot all three terrorists dead.
Yet in that brief period, seven people were murdered and more than 40 injured. And worryingly, as with several previous attacks, at least one of the perpetrators was already on the MI5/police radar. He was associated with a well-known radical cleric, but because he was regarded as being a minor player, the security services did not have the resources to place him under close surveillance.
We owe it to the dead of London and Manchester to ensure that this situation never arises again. If MI5 or the police need extra resources, they must have them — whatever it takes.
Similarly, with an estimated 3,000 radicals living in the UK and hundreds returning from Syria, there must be a huge extension of the terrorism prevention orders known as TPIMs, which restrict the movements of suspects.