Theresa May tonight told the United Nations that ‘enough is enough’ as she pleaded with world leaders to work together to fight terrorism online and on the battlefield.
The Prime Minister reflected on the five terror attacks to have blighted Britain in 2017 and told the UN General Assembly all leaders had all seen ‘too many innocent people’ in ‘too many hospitals’.
In a personal speech, Mrs May said it had been a decade since Benazir Bhutto – who introduced her to husband Philip – had been killed by terrorists in Pakistan for defending democracy.
And she said the global community had to work together to stop terrorists plotting and spreading extremism online.
Theresa May (pictured addressing the General Assembly in New York tonight) told the United Nations that ‘enough is enough’ as she pleaded with world leaders to work together to fight terrorism online and on the battlefield
The PM also talked about North Korea’s continual refusal to disarm during her address
Mrs May also spoke out against climate change deniers in a thinly veiled jibe at Donald Trump
Terrorism and the UK’s resilience to those who wish to destroy the British way of life were also touched upon during her address
Major internet firms including Google and Facebook have taken part in meetings on the margins of the General Assembly about tackling terror.
World leaders including Mrs May have challenged the companies to develop technological fixes to take down terrorist material within one to two hours.
Interior ministers from the G7 group of leading nations will meet in Rome on October 20 to decide whether enough progress has been made.
And governments are making clear they are ready to take legislative action which could include fines for internet giants which fail to act.
British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during the General Debate of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York
Mrs May said the global community had to work together to stop terrorists plotting and spreading extremism online
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Theresa May attend a meeting about Libya during the United Nations General Assembly in New York
Mr Johnson and Mrs May cannot hide their awkwardness of being together at a UN meeting
The Prime Minister (pictured at the UN this afternoon) reflected on the five terror attacks to have blighted Britain in 2017 in her major speech on countering terrorism
In her keynote address to the UN, Mrs May tonight said: ‘When terrorists struck London and Manchester this year, the world saw our cities come together in defiance.
‘Our Parliament carries on. Ariana Grande came back to Manchester and sang again.
‘London Bridge is bustling with people.
‘Our communities came together at the Finsbury Park Mosque in North London.
‘And Londoners got back on the tube.
‘The terrorists did not win, for we will never let anyone destroy our way of life.’
MAY TELLS WORLD LEADERS OF FRIEND THAT SET HER UP WITH PHILIP WHO WAS KILLED BY TERROR
May and Benazir Bhutto (pictured) were friends at Oxford in 1976
Theresa May tonight told world leaders it had been a decade since Benazir Bhutto, who introduced her to husband Philip, had been killed by terrorists.
Ms Bhutto was murdered in Pakistan for defending democracy and for being a woman, Mrs May said.
The Prime Minister, Mr May and Ms Bhutto were all contemporaries at Oxford in 1976.
In her speech calling for new global coordination to fight terror, Mrs May said: ‘This year is the tenth anniversary of the death of the woman who introduced me to my husband, and who was known well to many of us in this United Nations.
‘Benazir Bhutto was brutally murdered by people who actively rejected the values that all of us here in this United Nations stand for, in a country that has suffered more than most at the hands of terrorists.
‘Murdered for standing up for democracy. Murdered for espousing tolerance. And murdered for being a woman.’
But Mrs May warned: ‘Defiance alone is not enough. As leaders, we have all visited too many hospitals and seen too many innocent people murdered in our countries.
‘In the last decade hundreds of thousands have been killed by terrorists across the world.
‘This is a truly global tragedy that is increasingly touching the lives of us all.’
The Premier said: ‘When I think of the hundreds of thousands of victims of terrorism in countries across the world, I think of their friends, their families, their communities, devastated by this evil.
‘And I say enough is enough.’
The Prime Minister said the global community must take the fight to terrorists online as well as on the battlefield – vowing to use Britain’s military where it was needed.
But she told UN: ‘As the threat from terrorists evolves, so must our co-operation.
‘That is why today – for the first time in the UN – governments and industry through the Global Internet Forum for Counter-Terrorism will be coming together to do just that.’
Mrs May added: ‘This year is the tenth anniversary of the death of the woman who introduced me to my husband, and who was known well to many of us in this United Nations.
‘Benazir Bhutto was brutally murdered by people who actively rejected the values that all of us here in this United Nations stand for, in a country that has suffered more than most at the hands of terrorists.
‘Murdered for standing up for democracy. Murdered for espousing tolerance. And murdered for being a woman.’
Mrs May (pictured greeting US vice president Mike Pence at today’s meeting) said it had been a decade since Benazir Bhutto – who introduced her to husband Philip – had been killed by terrorists in Pakistan for defending democracy
Mrs May has met a series of world leaders in the margins of the UN General Assembly, including French president Emmanuel Macron (pictured)_
YouTube defended its approach to extremist content today, claiming many videos are now removed before any complaint is received as a result of its monitoring systems.
A spokesman said: ‘Addressing the challenge posed by extremism is a critical challenge for us all and we’re determined to be part of the solution.
‘We’ve put our best talent and technology to the task and we’re making progress through new machine-learning technology, partnerships with experts and collaborations with other companies through the Global Internet Forum.
‘Through new uses of technology, the majority of videos we removed for violent extremism over the past month were taken down before receiving a single human flag. We’re doing more every day to tackle these complex issues.’
Kent Walker, general counsel at Google, told the BBC: ‘By funding experts like ISD, we hope to support sustainable solutions to extremism both online and offline.
‘We don’t have all the answers, but we’re committed to playing our part. We’re looking forward to helping bring new ideas and technologies to life.’
Boris Johnson (front row, second left) took part in a meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum at the General Assembly today
Ministers from countries around the world took part in a meeting at the General Assembly today (pictured)
Stop wasting aid cash or we’ll withhold £30m: Theresa May savages the UN for the ‘unbridgeable gap’ between its ‘noble purposes’ and the way it delivers money
Theresa May last night threatened to fine the United Nations tens of millions of pounds unless it improves the way it spends aid money.
In a combative speech, the Prime Minister savaged the UN for shortcomings that ‘risk undermining the confidence of states as members and donors’.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Mrs May said the UN suffered from a ‘seemingly unbridgeable gap between the nobility of its purposes and the effectiveness of its delivery’.
Theresa May last night threatened to fine the United Nations tens of millions of pounds unless it improves the way it spends aid money
She added: ‘The UN and its agencies must win our trust by proving to us and the people we represent that they can deliver.’
She said that up to 30 per cent of Britain’s core funding for the UN could be withheld in future unless it raises its game.
This could amount to a financial penalty of about £30million a year for the global institution.
The threat does not cover the £2billion a year the UK gives the UN for aid and peacekeeping programmes, but it is designed to force the organisation to improve its performance.
Sources said ministers were determined to see greater transparency, efficiency and accountability over the way the UN spends British taxpayers’ money.
In a wide-ranging speech yesterday, Mrs May also took a swipe at Donald Trump for his decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change agreement.
She attacked North Korea’s race to build a nuclear weapon and urged China to act to restrain its belligerent ally.
And she criticised Russia for war-mongering in Ukraine and blocking a peace deal in Syria.
Mrs May also took a swipe at Donald Trump for his decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change agreement
Ministers have been concerned for years about the performance of UN aid agencies. Four were stripped of funding in 2011, and a government review of aid spending last year was critical of the UN agency Unesco.
The agency was found to be inefficient and unaccountable and was rated as ‘weak’ for the way it controlled costs and dealt with fraud.
In a separate intervention in New York, the international development secretary Priti Patel said the UN had ‘ballooned into a multiplicity of agencies and organisations, with too little coherence’.
Mrs May warned world leaders that the international system would not survive if countries continued to flout rules and treaties to suit themselves.
In a coded attack on Mr Trump, Mrs May bracketed the breaking of the Paris climate change deal with North Korea’s flouting of treaties designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.