British Prime Minister David Cameron has made a statement in the House of Commons, calling for new measures to combat Islamic extremism. He said that the government was looking at ways of preventing UK nationals going abroad to engage in terrorist activities. He also said that he wanted to find a way of preventing UK nationals who had committed terrorist acts abroad from returning to the UK, and he called for new powers to deal with extremists resident in the UK.
He made it clear that Islamic extremism and terrorism had nothing to do with the mainstream religion of Islam, which he said is practiced peacefully by around a billion people worldwide.
“We are proud to be an open, free and tolerant nation,” he said. “But that tolerance must never be confused with a passive acceptance of cultures living separate lives or people behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values. Adhering to British values is not an option or a choice. It is a duty for all those who live in these islands. So we will stand up for our values, we will in the end defeat this extremism, and we will secure our way of life for generations to come.”
The statement came after a terrorist with a British accent was filmed beheading American journalist James Foley. The UK government has said that the act was unprovoked murder and that it is hunting the suspect.
