LONDON // Why did British prime minister Theresa May choose to lower the UK terror threat level from critical just five days after the Manchester bombing on May 27?
It is one question that will be uppermost in the minds of many one day after the latest terrorist outrage to hit the UK.
The decision, taken even as members of the cell believed to have supported bomber Salman Abedi were still being identified and rounded up, appeared premature at the time.
Indeed, arrests were still being made as recently as Saturday, when a 24-year-old Manchester man became the 17th person to be detained on suspicion of committing terrorist offences in connection with the attack.
But in the wake of the rampage in the London Bridge area of the capital on Saturday night, which has left seven dead and more than 50 injured, the decision to send the "all-clear" to the British public so soon appeared downright irresponsible.
Days after Manchester, reports were circulating in western media that ISIL was using its social media channels to call for more attacks on the West throughout the period of Ramadan. "Muslim brothers in Europe who can't reach the Islamic State lands, attack them in their homes, their markets, their roads and their forums," read one message, posted on YouTube.
Chillingly - and, for all true Muslims, heartbreakingly - it continued: "Your targeting of the so-called innocents and civilians is beloved by us and the most effective, so go forth and may you get a great reward or martyrdom in Ramadan."
That, indeed, appeared to be the tragically misguided motive that led to Saturday night's attack in London.
Eyewitnesses report that one of the attackers was screaming "This is for Allah" as he set about his grisly business.
British voters are due to go to the polls in a general election on Thursday, an election for which campaigning has again been suspended, for the second time in two weeks.
Mrs May called the snap vote in the hope that she would be returned to power with an overwhelming majority, in order to lay claim to a popular mandate for her imminent Brexit negotiations with the European Union. But after a series of political gaffes her Conservative party is losing ground in the polls to Labour and some analysts are even suggesting that Mrs May's majority could be seriously reduced.
The awful suspicion will be that, with her "strong and stable" government appearing increasingly weak and unstable, Mrs May's decision to dial down the threat level - to return the shaken country to a reassuringly "business as usual" footing as soon as possible - may have been taken for cynical political reasons.
Whatever the motive, it will be forgotten - for now, at least - in the rush to consider the implications of the latest London attack for the One Love concert to be staged in Manchester on Sunday night in support of those affected by the bombing that killed 22 mainly children and teenagers at Ariana Grande's concert two weeks ago.
For police and the security services, the gathering on Sunday of thousands of young fans and some of the biggest names in contemporary pop music for a concert - due to be broadcast live on BBC television and radio - presents a security scenario of nightmare proportions.
As for guaranteeing the security of Thursday's general election, the grim truth is that there simply aren't enough police to protect every one of the 50,000 or more sites across the UK that will serve as polling stations from 7am to 10pm on the day. The concern is that fear will keep some voters away, especially in high-profile urban centres. For the Conservatives, an additional worry will be that voters will blame them for "allowing" these attacks to take place on their watch, and will vote accordingly.
As random violence threatens to become the new norm, the British are learning on their feet.
The newly issued advice from police for those who find themselves caught up in such events is "Run, Hide, Tell", an exhortation to "Run to a place of safety ... a better option than to surrender or to negotiate" or, "if there's nowhere to go ... Hide - turn your phone to silent, turn off vibrate", and when it is safe to do so, call the police.
It is also clear that the security response, certainly in the capital, is becoming more finely tuned.
Within minutes of it becoming clear that a vehicle had been driven at pedestrians on London Bridge, police were scouring the darkened Thames for anyone who might have jumped or been thrown into the river. This is a lesson painfully learnt.
A Romanian tourist who remained unseen in the water for some time after the March 22 attack on Westminster Bridge was eventually spotted and rescued by the crew of a passing pleasure boat, but later died of her injuries.
All three of last night's attackers had been shot dead within eight minutes of police receiving the first 999 call about the incident. Indeed, an unarmed British Transport Police officer responding to the alarm, in the vicinity of one of London's busiest transport hubs, was among those seriously hurt in the rampaging knife attack.
But no matter how swift, no matter how many armed police are standing by ready to react to such incidents, no response is ever going to be enough.
As demonstrated on Westminster Bridge and at the Houses of Parliament, in Manchester and now again in London, the terrorists "win" the moment their first victim falls. Since March 22 these three attacks have claimed the lives of at least 33 people.
Once again, despite the active collaboration of at least three players, the security services apparently failed to pick up any chatter or other clues that might have enabled them to head off the attack. Resources are, doubtless, still focused on the Manchester investigation, in which it has emerged that Abedi was on the terror radar but somehow slipped through the net. The latest attack will only increase the pressure on MI5, the hard-pressed domestic security service, making further catastrophic errors even more likely.
The ramifications of this latest attack for Muslims, British and visitors to the UK will be widespread. Traditionally London welcomes many visitors from the Gulf during the summer. Will the fear of further attacks - and perhaps of growing suspicion of and animosity towards foreigners - dissuade them from visiting this year?
The Muslim Council of Britain has been been quick to react to the London Bridge outrage, the latest attempt by ISIL supporters to achieve the organisation's wicked aim of provoking a final confrontation between Islam and the West.
Secretary-general of the council, Harun Khan, issued a statement on Sunday saying he was "appalled and angered by the terrorist attacks ... in my home city". It was those last four words that constituted the key phrase of the message, as mosques and Muslims across the country find themselves once again anxiously striving to distance themselves and their faith from the latest outrage, and to remind other Britons that they too are "us" and not "them".
Muslims everywhere, Mr Khan's message continued, "are outraged and disgusted at these cowards who once again have destroyed the lives of our fellow Britons".
"That this should happen in this month of Ramadan, when many Muslims were praying and fasting only goes to show that these people respect neither life nor faith."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
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