Evening Standard comment: Spain’s sorrow and the fight against terrorism

The unhappy toll of death and injury inflicted in Spain by what appears to be yet another Islamic State-inspired terrorist attack has rightly brought condemnation and expressions of sympathy from around the world, and both Prime Minister Theresa May and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan have expressed their dismay at this latest act of pointless barbarity.

The fact that a three-year-old child is among those killed by the terrorist who drove a van into the crowds on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas only serves to highlight how warped the minds are of the extremists who carry out such vile acts. All Londoners will want to join this newspaper in declaring our solidarity with those affected and our desire to see the malicious ideology which drives such attacks defeated.

Exactly how many terrorists were involved in the Spanish attacks and how organised they were remains uncertain, although investigators are working on the theory that both the Barcelona killings and the attack hours later 120 kilometres away in Cambrils, in which five men wearing fake suicide belts were shot dead after driving a car into passers-by, are connected to an explosion a day earlier at a suspected bomb factory in another Spanish town, Alcanar.

The picture will become clearer over the coming days as police seek to find the Barcelona attacker and any other extremists who might be on the loose. With reports of a CIA warning two months ago about a threat to Las Ramblas, it could yet emerge that more could have been done to foil the attacks.

But whatever is discovered, the reality is that crude killings using vehicles will always be difficult to prevent as earlier IS-inspired attacks in European cities, including Nice, Berlin, Stockholm and London, have shown. There are, however, lessons to learn. The first is that one incident feeds off another. The killings in Spain are likely to bring an even greater risk of further attacks elsewhere in Europe, including here, as would-be terrorists draw sick inspiration from the latest images of carnage and are pushed over the line into attempting murder. Increased public vigilance is needed, including, crucially, tip-offs to the authorities from any who suspect others of violent extremist intent.

The head of Britain’s counter-terrorism police, Mark Rowley, admitted last week that the scale of the threat is now such that police and MI5 are no longer able on their own to prevent further attacks. Public assistance, particularly from within Muslim communities, has been growing but is now more vital than ever, not just here but in other European countries too.

Security co-operation across Europe and beyond must also be strengthened, regardless of Brexit. Whether Spain was targeted deliberately after enjoying a bumper year of tourism, driven at least partly by a perception that it may be a safer destination than countries such as France, Turkey and Tunisia, might never be known. But it is clear that no country can hope to remain immune from this Islamist threat and that as much collaboration as possible is required.

There is also the question of legislative changes. Spain will decide on its own response. But in this country, police are concerned that sentences for “propaganda” offences such as encouraging terrorism and disseminating terrorist material are too short. When so many terrorist attacks are being driven by online exhortations, it is clear that the role of propaganda in provoking extremists to act has become far more significant than it was previously, and that the law has failed to keep pace. Action to address this is needed.

For now, though, thoughts must return to Spain. We share that nation’s sorrow and hope that no more lives are lost as the remaining terrorists are located.