India - London Mayor offers help in terror probe

Hasan Suroor







LONDON: Even as Scotland Yard detectives are helping the Indian police in the investigations into the Mumbai attacks, London Mayor Boris Johnson has offered further support of the Metropolitan Police to provide their “unrivalled expertise” to investigators.

Noting that London had a large Indian population, Mr. Johnson said he wished to offer the city’s sympathy and support to them at “this difficult moment.”

“Our close relationship is particularly important in these sad times. I was shocked by the terrible and indiscriminate attacks on the people of Mumbai and have offered the support of the Metropolitan Police to provide their unrivalled expertise following the attacks,” he said at a function organised by ThinkLondon, which promotes foreign investment in London.

The Mayor said it was important to continue building ties between India and Britain by “engaging with the Indian business community both in London and India to maintain London’s status as one of the world’s most attractive inward investment locations.” He was confident that Mumbai would “not be deflected from its course” by these indiscriminate attacks and would recover as London had from the July 7, 2005 bombings.

Indian High Commissioner to the U.K., Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, said Indian voters had given “a fitting reply to the terrorists” and shown that they would “not be deterred by such attacks and would continue with their faith in democracy.”

Mr. Johnson, in a newspaper interview, said security around the Thames was being stepped up to prevent a “Mumbai-style operation.”