Javid urges unity after suspected hate crimes linked to New Zealand terror attack
Written by News on 18/03/2019
Britain must “stand together” after a series of suspected hate crimes in the wake of the New Zealand terror attack, the home secretary has said.
A stabbing in Stanwell, Surrey, on Saturday night is being treated as a terrorist incident and a 50-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
There were also incidents in London, Rochdale and Oxford over the last few days.
“We must stand together as a society and reject the terrorists and extremists who seek to divide us,” said Sajid Javid.
“Now’s the moment for us all to challenge the hatred, ignorance and violence they peddle and stand up for the kind of country we are and want to be.
“A welcoming, tolerant, proudly diverse country that draws strength and prosperity from that diversity,” added the home secretary.
“To any communities who are feeling vulnerable and under threat I say we are with you. You benefit our country, you are part of our country, part of us,” said Mr Javid.
A man and a woman, 32 and 33, have been charged over the Rochdale incident after “a taxi driver was subjected to abuse and threats that referenced the New Zealand terrorist attack,” said Greater Manchester Police.
Online comments about the New Zealand attack also led to two arrests – a 38-year-old woman, also from Rochdale, was detained, as was a 24-year-old man from Oldham.
In London, police are hunting three men who made anti-Muslim remarks before getting out of a car and attacking a man with a blunt object in Whitechapel on Friday afternoon.
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Swastikas and the words “sub 2 pewdiepie” also appeared on Saturday on a wall in Cheney Lane in Oxford.
Thames Valley Police said it was “possibly linked to the attacks in New Zealand”.
In a live stream of the mass murder in New Zealand, suspected gunman Brenton Tarrant said “remember lads, subscribe to PewDiePie” – a reference to an internet meme.
The YouTube star said he was “absolutely sickened” to have his name mentioned.
Police said the incident in Stanwell, a village half a mile from Heathrow Airport, involved a man allegedly shouting racist comments while carrying a baseball bat and a knife.
A 19-year-old man was left with non-life threatening injuries after being stabbed – apparently in a Tesco car park.
Met Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said: “Whilst this investigation is still in its infancy, it has hallmarks of a terror event, inspired by the far right, and therefore it has been declared a terrorism incident.”
At least 50 people were killed on Friday when Tarrant, an Australian far-right supporter, allegedly gunned people down at close range at two Christchurch mosques.
On Monday, police raided two homes in New South Wales, Australia, with one said to belong to Tarrant’s sister.
(c) Sky News 2019: Javid urges unity after suspected hate crimes linked to New Zealand terror attack
