23 March 2017

London attack: Nuttall says cut out radical Islam cancer

The "cancer within our society of radical Islam" needs to be "cut out", UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has said.

It was time for UK Muslims "to step up to the plate" after the attack in London that claimed the lives of four people, he said.

Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier it was wrong to call the attack Islamic, it was "Islamist terrorism - it is a perversion of a great faith".

The Greens' Jonathan Bartley called Mr Nuttall's comments "abhorrent".

Describing the atrocity as "an appalling act of terrorism", Mr Nuttall said it was no coincidence it had taken place a year after suicide bomb attacks on the Brussels airport and underground system, which killed 32 people.

He said the attack had been a matter of "when not if".

"As long as we have this cancer within our society of radical Islam it will always happen - it will happen again - it needs to be sorted out," Mr Nuttall said.

"It's not that easy, but we need to ensure the Muslim community itself, who in many cases will know who these people are living among them, they need to stand up to the plate and they need to report these people to the police as soon as possible." [BBC] Read more