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Londoners warned over pre-Christmas extremist attack

Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick has warned Londoners to be on alert to the potential threat of a pre-Christmas extremist attack.

Writing in the Evening Standard, Dick stated that it remained important that the public showed the ‘courage and confidence’ to report suspicious behaviour and said contacting police ‘won’t ruin lives, but it might just save them’.

The number of counter terrorism investigations across the UK is at a record level, with 800 probes currently live, on top of 31 foiled plots since 2017. It is believed that a significant proportion of the alleged plots are connected to London.

Dick wrote that the recent murder of MP Sir David Amess acted as a ‘chilling reminder that the threat of terrorism is very real’ and that being alert and vigilant was especially key as ‘we continue to enjoy regaining our freedom in the run-up to Christmas’.

The killing of Amess, who was stabbed multiple times outside his constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, earlier this month, has been linked to Islamist extremism. Ali Harbi Alo, from London, has been charged with the MP’s murder.

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