I have been following the TV reporting of yesterday's (apparently) lone-wolf attack in Westminster and I have been struck, not for the first time, by the inept, headline-grabbing coverage from SKY, ITV and the BBC.
My sympathies go out to those killed and those horribly maimed and injured by the murderous actions of the perpetrator, subsequently shot dead by police. I really feel for the families of all the victims in this atrocity.
Apart from the disgusting nonsense spouted by the various outside broadcasters in the absence of actual facts, some of the interviews conducted with passers-by who claimed to have witnessed the events were ill-conceived as some were clearly in shock, still unable to rationalise what they had just seen.
In addition, once again we saw banner headlines across our TV screens with exaggerated numbers of dead and injured - this happens every time there is a major incident in the UK and is entirely the fault of news broadcasters. I believe it is a quite deliberate ploy to exaggerate the shock factor by poor journalists. The official, collated figures were only released a couple of hours ago by the Met Police and revealed less fatalities and injuries than journalists had claimed.
I actually believe there should be legislation in place to prevent the kind of wildly inaccurate claims made by the media and they should be instructed to simply state that they cannot confirm any victim numbers until figures are released by the police co-ordinating office.
This morning, I actually read the speech of our incompetent PM, in which she stated that 'such attacks are ultimately doomed to failure'. Really! If I were a supporter of terrorism, I would take the view that yesterday's attack was very successful, although not on the same scale as previous atrocities in London, Paris and elsewhere. To imagine that she might discourage further attacks by lunatic groups bent on terrorism by such a statement is sheer stupidity. Of course, people will get on with their lives - they don't have a choice in that - but there will be many who will avoid central London precisely because of the the fear attacks like yesterday's engender.
Mrs May, both as a Home Secretary and now as Prime Minister, has singularly failed to address the root causes of why the UK should be a target for terrorists but to be fair to her, neither did any of her predecessors.
Perhaps if those inside the Westminster bubble were able to see the world through the eyes of an Irishman.....or a Scot, a Syrian, an Iraqi, an Afghan or a Palestinian, they might come to understand why it is that certain people resent the British government so much that they see terrorism as the only way of articulating their grievances.
This is another very sad day for British people and all decent people around the world.
Tom
ps I know I could have created a new thread but I think it fits quite well with this one.
