Showing hope in the face of terror
Four Days That Shook Britain
STV, 9pm
OVER the space of four months in spring and summer last year, four terrorist attacks took place in the UK that would change the lives of hundreds of people forever. This 90-minute documentary, featuring accounts from witnesses and members of the emergency services who were first on the scene, tells the dramatic story of each attack, remembering those who lost their lives and hearing from those who survived.
The atrocities began in on March 22, when Khalid Masood drove a hire car across Westminster Bridge in Central London, killing four pedestrians – Kurt Cochran, Leslie Rhodes, Aysha Frade and Andreea Cristea – and injuring dozens more.
After crashing his vehicle into railings close to Westminster Tube station, Masood ran into Parliament Square and fatally stabbed police officer Keith Palmer, who was posthumously awarded the George Medal, the second-highest award for gallantry “not in the face of the enemy”.
The attack, which lasted just 82 seconds, came to an end when Masood was fatally shot in the chest by an armed officer.
Exactly two months later, 22 people were killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device laden with metal nuts as shrapnel in the lobby of Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariana Grande pop concert.
More than 200 people were injured in the deadliest terror attack on British soil since the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005.
The youngest victim, Saffie Roussos, was killed after becoming separated from her mum and sister at the venue. She was just eight years old.
Terror struck again in the capital the following month when three men drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before getting out and running into Borough Market.
Rachid Redouane, Khuram Butt and Youssef Zaghba – who were all wearing fake explosive vests – started stabbing people with long knives as horrified revellers ran away and tried to barricade themselves inside bars and restaurants.
Eight people were killed, with armed police shooting the three attackers dead just eight minutes after the first emergency calls are made.
Then, just 16 days later, another man, Makram Ali, died and several other people were injured when a van was driven into a group of Muslim worshippers outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, North London.
The vehicle hit pedestrians as they are leaving Ramadan night prayers around midnight.
Dad-of-four Darren Osborne, 47, from Cardiff, was subsequently charged with terrorism-related murder and attempted murder. He was jailed for life at Woolwich Crown Court last month.
Last year has been dubbed “Britain’s Year Of Terror” and, although the country still lives under the shadow of these attacks, this touching documentary shows there is hope.
Tourism across the nation, particularly in London, is on the rise and officers are working hard to thwart plots all the time.
But, most importantly, the victims of the 2017 atrocities and the courage of those who sprung into action during those four dark days, will never be forgotten.