World leaders have unanimously condemned the attack in the heart of London by a man who was shot dead by armed police, with many saying they stand with Britain. At least three people were killed and 29 hospitalised in the attack outside parliament Wednesday when a man mowed down pedestrians with a car then leapt out and stabbed a police officer. Prime Minister Theresa May described the attack as “sick and depraved”, saying the assailant chose the site as an assault on Britain’s democratic values. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany stood “firmly and resolutely alongside Britons in the struggle against all forms of terrorism” while President Frank-Walter Steinmeier added: “In these grave moments, we Germans feel very close to the British people.”
President Francois Hollande sent a message of “support to the British people” after the attack, in which three French high school students were wounded. The lights of the Eiffel Tower were switched off at midnight in a tribute to the victims. Hollande said France could identify with Britain’s pain after a series of jihadist assaults on its own soil. “France, which has been hit so hard in recent times, knows what the British people are suffering today.” The White House pledged “the full support of the US government in responding to the attack and bringing those to justice who are responsible,” spokesman Sean Spicer said. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the attack left him “highly emotional”. In Brussels to commemorate the first anniversary of attacks on the airport and a metro station, Juncker said: “The fact that exactly on the same day something similar happened in London, and to London, is really putting me in the situation of someone who does not have… enough words to express how I am deeply feeling.” European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: “Europe stands firm with the UK against terror and ready to help.” “The forces of terror are acting more and more cunningly and cynically,” President Vladimir Putin said in a statement, adding that “a real uniting of the efforts of all the members of the international community” was needed to combat extremism. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “Turkey feels and shares deeply in the United Kingdom’s pain” after his country was hit by a string of deadly attacks in the past year. Erdogan had warned Europeans in a speech earlier Wednesday that “no European, no Westerner will be able to take steps on the street safely and peacefully,” as a crisis between Ankara and the EU showed no signs of abating. “We are shocked and angered at the terror attack that generated many deaths and injuries,” government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. “The government absolutely condemns the despicable terror attack.” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the assault was an attack on “freedom and democracy everywhere”. In a message of condolence to Queen Elizabeth II, President Xi Jinping strongly condemned the attack and said terrorism was the common enemy of the international community. Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi condemned the attack, calling for “all countries to form a vast international coalition to fight against terrorism”. But he also took a dig at Western government policy over Syria, adding in comments cited by the Mehr news agency: “No country will be safe from terrorism while Western countries continue to adopt double standards in fighting against this phenomenon.”
