London Becomes One Of Most Dangerous Cities Around World

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“I don’t desire to change anything in England except the weather” – Oscar Wilde. This quote represents the current attitude of the British government.

A look back at London’s incidents in 2017 shows a sharp increase in both the number of terror attacks and murders. According to the media reports, there were 5 terror attacks, that gave ground for the UK media to call 2017 a “Britain’s year of terror”.

On March 22, 2017 Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before jumping out and stabbing a police officer. Five victims died. On May 22, 2017 Salman Abedi blew himself up at Manchester Arena. There were 22 fatalities.  On June 3, 2017 three terrorists ploughed a van into people on London Bridge before jumping out and going on a stabbing rampage. Eight people died. On June 19, 2017 a van slammed into worshippers near Finsbury Park Mosque in North London. One person died. On September 15, 2017 a bucket bomb part-detonated on a District Line train at Parsons Green Tube station injuring 18 people.

There were 134 murders in 2017, a 40% increase over the last three years. Since the start of the 2018 year up to the April 4, 52 murders were committed in London, the UK BBC News reported on April 16.

On March 1, 2018 MI5 reduced the threat level of terrorism from SUBSTANTIAL to MODERATE. This means that a terrorist attack is possible, but not “highly likely”. However, it is clear that these 2017-2018 causalities shows that London is not so secure.

Indeed, the British capital is a home to hundreds of widely-known terrorist organizations as well as of low-profile terrorist groups. However, these unrenowned terrorist groups carry out activities in the worldwide.

Another issue behind a dangerous situation in the British capital is the increasing number of immigrants with the radical views or an antagonism to the West. It should be noted that relatives of a notable part of these immigrants have been killed during the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan or Africa. Many immigrants believe that the West is directly or indirectly responsible for this.

The UK government affirms “toleration” as a key term in the integration and assimilation process. However, the British approach hasn’t been effective to cope with a huge number of London’s immigrants. Nowadays London presents many ‘no-go’ areas where the immigrants live declaring their own rules. As a result, the tensions are growing on ethnic and religious grounds.

The ineffective policy of assimilation discredits the British authorities, which obviously have little or no control.

All these issues are a result of the foreign and internal policy of the UK. With the current political narrative and strategy, London has no levers of pressure to influence the security situation. In the near future, the situation with the spread of radical ideas and their impact on the society will not ameliorate. Consequently, the growth of violence and intolerance from the both sides is expected.

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