Speaking after the vigil held at this evening at Somali and Bravanese Islamic Centre in Coppetts Road, Theresa Villiers, the local MP for the area, reiterated her condemnation of the attack which took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning and saw the centre burned down.
Theresa said: “I was impressed by the calm resolve that the community displayed at tonight’s vigil. We were there to demonstrate our support for the Somali community and all those who used the Bravanese Community Centre in Coppetts Road.”
“While it is still not possible to know all the facts, it seems highly likely that this was a hate crime. This is something I utterly condemn and I am pleased that so many of my constituents turned out this evening at short notice to show their support for the Bravanese Centre and all of the Somali and Moslim community in Barnet.”
“We are rightly proud of our multi-ethnic, multi-faith community in Barnet. We are a successful example of how people from very diverse backgrounds and traditions can live together successfully and harmoniously. It was a shock to all of us to have a hate crime occur here and we wanted to demonstrate our complete rejection of violent extremism and prejudice. This callous attack will not divide our community in Barnet. It was an attack on all of us not just the Bravanese Centre.”
“It was a pleasure to meet the chairman of the centre, Abubakhar Ali, and other members of the community who have used the Bravanese Centre over the years. It clearly carried out excellent educational work and had a great relationship with its neighbours, such as Coppetts Wood School. When I visited the school today, the head teacher, Deena Chetty, expressed his grave concern about what has happened.”
Earlier in the day, Theresa was briefed on the situation by Borough Police Commander for Barnet, Chief Superintendent, Adrian Usher. She said:
“I was reassured to hear of the action being taken to provide a visible police presence in the borough for mosques and Islamic cultural centres to provide reassurance at this difficult time.”