Anian

So he was a 53-year-old British-born known criminal. I'm starting to think that many of these attacks are more based on suicide without doing it yourself than the wish to commit terrorism. In Europe, it's a lot harder to pull off a successful suicide-by-cop than the US.

dc koop

So a British born Muslim whose British citizenship obviously came a distant second to his religion.

This is one of the problems in Europe today, in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany also a segment of people who cannot integrate or feel any identity with the country that they were born and grew up in.

I saw on the news yesterday that it was estimated that as many as 850 British born Muslims had left the country to join ISIS and that about half of them have returned to Britain. IMO this is a ridiculous situation. What would it take for the laws of citizenship and birthright to be amended so that any British citizen who voluntarily enlists in a known terrorist organization forfeit their citizenship, their passports cancelled and lose any right to return to Britain. No one should care what becomes of them. Let them stay where they are and die and good riddance to the scumbags.

dc koop

He could have committed suicide in several different other ways. I'm sure he was just another individual radicalized by ISIS on the internet and sought recognition as a fighter and a martyr.

Anian

"without doing it yourself"

robin1234

True. Looking at the distance he drove on the pavement, were there no street lights or other more substantial obstructions?

Guindalf

Copycat? Or co-ordination?

Man held after car speeds into Antwerp shopping street | Reuters

Pulaski

It's already happened, and a number of men have been stripped of their British citizenship, though I think it has only been applied to a small proportion of the known cases. One of the problems is that it is only being applied to dual citizens, in other words the British government won't strip someone of their British citizenship and leave them stateless.

Anian

To respond a bit more fully:
It isn't a firm belief of mine, it's just that rather than killing huge numbers of people they have starting to resort to basic knife attacks and running people over. It isn't exactly a strong case for wanting to inflict pain on infidels, it's closer to a nihilistic teenager lashing out. I'm sure there are genuinely radicalised muslims living in western countries, but even they would realise that martyring themselves for such pathetic gains to their cause is dumb. Fewer of these attacks are being done by devout Muslims, they seem to be mostly those still drinking and taking drugs. If you are ready to end it all, want a bit of petty revenge, and there is a convenient scapegoat organisation you can pin it on, seems like the easier option.

petitefrancaise

well, Brexit should have an easier passage now.
Strange, huh? the timing and all.

robin1234

I don't see any connection at all. Explain?

petitefrancaise

You know that Brexit (article 50) is due to be triggered next Wednesday? Tomorrow in London there is a huge march organised against Brexit. One of the main points of Brexit is controlling Britain's borders again. Stopping the flood of refugees and terrorists. It's going to be difficult for the anti-Brexiters to get media coverage now and it's also a bit more difficult to justify keeping the borders as open as they are immediately after a terrorist attack. NOTE I am totally against Brexit (having lived in Europe of course) and I am being super cynical.

albanks2542

It was always going to happen and impossible to prevent. We have been lucky to avoid attacks recently. Many plots have been foiled but it is impossible to stop everything all of the time. The police should be armed this day in age. It would have been a different outcome for PC Palmer if he had been. I don't understand the resistance to the police being armed. They have been armed in Northern Ireland for quite some time.

Pulaski

Brexit, right?

Pulaski

I am not sure that being part of a large, densely packed crowd in London, or indeed anywhere in the UK, nor in Europe either, is a good idea. You realise there was a referendum last summer and the "remainers" LOST, right?
At least you distinguished "living in Europe" from living in the UK.

robin1234

Well, I know all that, yes. I just thought that since it was an attack of a kind unfortunately fairly routine now, carried out by a single individual born in Britain, it wouldn't really have any particular effect on ongoing life. Maybe I'm naive.