Europe at war

I will never complain about additional security at airports ever again. I will never question the need for additional police or additional soldiers. The sad truth, as the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, is that we are at war. We must wake up to the fact that we are now facing a war on Europe. This is not some distant conflict being fought out in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan, this is a war in Europe. Islamic State showed today that they are capable of striking anywhere from Brussels to Paris and therefore the people of Europe need to be protected. The Schengen Treaty on cross-border travel needs to be scrapped, the security services must be deployed on our streets in force, not just as a deterrent but to keep us safe. A tough anti-terrorism policy needs to be introduced across Europe, so there are no loopholes. This is a battle which can be won but it won’t be won with words, action is needed. Security must be paramount and security must be taken seriously. Intelligence needs to be shared and instead of talking about further European Union I suspect that the people of Europe would like to see a united security service whose aim is to keep us safe. It needs to be properly funded and properly organised. In the way that Interpol already exists we need a similar anti-terrorism organisation. The fight against Islamic State needs to be fought on two fronts. In Syria and Iraq and also in our own cities and towns. We are at war and we have to live with the consequences.