It’s difficult to find the words for what happened in Paris. The awfulness of it all, the loss of life, and the hatred that drove those who did it are beyond imagination.
This was a brutal, senseless attack on people whose only crime was to be out enjoying themselves on a Friday night. The victims were young, innocent and came from across the world – all races, all religions, killed indiscriminately. It was an attack on all of us, on our way of life and the values we share with the French people.
The full picture of what happened is still emerging. There are so many questions: What’s the right thing to do? What does this mean for us here? How do we defeat Isis and its warped ideology?
For us here in Kent, the most important thing is to hold our heads up and carry on. If we live in fear, the terrorists win.
I have written to Kent Police to find out what they are doing to prepare in case there is an attack here, and how the Government can support them.
Cross-channel security is a matter of particular concern to my constituents, since Kent sits on the border with France. I raised this issue in the House of Commons, and the Home Secretary told me she plans to increase spot-checks on vehicles coming through the Channel Tunnel. This is on top of the £12 million the Government invested in extra security measures at the port of Calais over the summer.
Our intelligence services are also doing incredible work protecting us. This year alone they have foiled seven terrorist plots. So I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement that Mi5, Mi6 and GCHQ will get extra funding to hire 1,900 new staff.
This tragedy must make us more determined than ever to bring an end to the war in Syria and to obliterate Isis. We are working closely with our international allies, sharing intelligence and training resources. Our close partnership with the USA is already yielding results, like the death of Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John.
We have already donated over a £1 billion to humanitarian efforts in Syria, and we’re helping other countries in the region manage the refugee crisis that this war has created. But in the long term, it is crucial we find a political solution that we in the West and the Syrian people will accept – and that must involve the end of the Assad regime.
This will not be easy, especially as Russia takes a different view. But we are all agreed that Isis is a great evil that must be wiped out. Together we will prevail.