CEP Statement on the Anniversary of the 2017 London Bridge Attack

(New York, N.Y.) - Four years ago, three Islamist terrorists drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and proceeded to stab people in the nearby area, taking the lives of eight and injuring almost 50 others. The suspected ringleader, Khuram Butt, was a member of the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun, then led by the internationally designated Islamist cleric and convicted ISIS supporter, Anjem Choudary.

According to a friend, Butt was radicalized by watching YouTube videos posted by U.S. hate preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril. Jibril produced online lectures that praised jihad and reportedly influenced many Westerners to fight in the Syrian conflict. Butt had twice been cautioned by police and had been investigated by MI5 for his extremist connections.

David Ibsen, executive director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), said:

“The anniversary of this attack comes as the inquest of Usman Khan, the terrorist responsible for the 2019 London Bridge attack, has reached its final conclusions. Both incidents highlight the need to take the risk of extremists in the U.K. seriously and to tackle radicalisation from all angles—online and on the ground.

“Following the 2017 attack, then Prime Minister Theresa May called for tighter Internet regulations to ensure extremists were purged from their safe spaces online. For too long, Big Tech was allowed to evade responsibility and failed to protect users by allowing terrorist content to exist online.

“The introduction of the U.K. Online Safety Bill is a welcome step towards ensuring the safety of children and adults online. It will help to protect the most vulnerable from radicalization and ultimately be invaluable in the fight against terror.”

To read CEP’s Khuram Butt resource, please click here.

To read CEP’s Anjem Choudary resource, please click here.

To read CEP’s Ahmad Musa Jibril resource, please click here.

To read CEP’s Usman Khan resource, please click here.

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