Writing a weekly newspaper column with a submission deadline two days before publication, means that events can change during the week it is viewed. The bank holiday on May 29th leads to an even earlier requested submission, meaning that I am writing this on the evening of Wednesday 24th May, less than 48 hours since the appalling terrorist atrocity in Manchester but nearly a week before publication, not knowing what may happen in the coming week.
As I write, feelings are still very raw about the terrorist outrage in Manchester. This attack represented a sickening new low with the targeting of children and teenagers. Hearing about the casualties is absolutely heartbreaking and I cannot write in a family newspaper what I think of the evil people who were behind this.
The following evening the UK threat level was raised from Severe to Critical and this will naturally cause further concern. At this stage, we do not know how long the threat level will remain at the highest possible level, but the advice given is sound, which is to remain vigilant but not alarmed.
What is very clear is that the police and very many others are working tirelessly around the clock to try and keep us all safe. We must also keep them in our thoughts and prayers as well as the victims and all those affected by the Manchester bombing. We need to be mindful of the huge pressures they are under and the dangers they are facing every day. We can help through being eyes and ears but also through cooperating with the police and trying to avoid creating other work for them to deal with during this critical time.
There were countless acts of kindness from Manchester that evening, including taxi drivers giving free lifts homes to anyone affected and people offering overnight rooms to those stranded. United in adversity, it was noticeable that people from every community were rushing to help. This is the real spirit of our great country and one that will never be broken by those who seek to divide us through terror.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
29th May 2017