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HOWARD'S WAY.... a weekly column from Michael Howard MP

17 August 2006

 

Last week was a week of astonishing contrasts

We were shocked by the news of a plot to destroy nine aircraft in mid flight across the Atlantic. We were appalled by the continuing death and destruction in the Middle East – and in other parts of the world such as Sri Lanka.

Yet here in Shepway, apart from those who were unlucky enough to have booked their flights for the period immediately after the news of the plot, life continued as normal.

The terrorist plot reminds us how great a threat we face. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the security services and the police who have done so much dangerous and dedicated work to protect us. By all accounts we must also be grateful to the Government of Pakistan where security services provided valuable intelligence.

Evil has potential to produce good. I hope that events like this, terrible though they are, will help to bring us together as a national community.

Had the plot succeeded there is no doubt that Muslims would have lost their lives, as was the case in the London bombings last year and the attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001. I am optimistic that the vast majority of British Muslims recognise that, as part of our national community, they have a duty to help detect and apprehend the few in their midst who wish to inflict incalculable harm on them and the rest of us.

As I write the guns and rockets in the Middle East have fallen silent. We must all hope and pray that they remain so. The last few weeks have seen terrible loss of life. There is, just, a possibility that the cessation of the violence may lead to a state of affairs in which each side feels less threatened by the other. I certainly hope this proves to be the case.

This all seems a very long way from Hythe Cricket Club. Last Friday I attended a lunch to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the club and the opening of the new clubhouse built on the ashes of the building which was destroyed by arson. We toasted the club and its visitors and wished it another 150 years of achievement. That, at least, is something on which everyone can agree.