UK Muslim group praises cabbie for averting bigger terror attack

Britain’s biggest Muslim umbrella group has praised David Perry, the Liverpool taxi driver “whose swift response” to a terror attack this Sunday “may have prevented a wider atrocity in the city.”

“Nothing justifies this reprehensible act, and we praise the quick action of David Perry who prevented a terrorist attack,” said Zara Mohammed, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, in a statement Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

She said Sunday’s attack took the form of an explosion outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital, “which holds a special place for the people of Liverpool.”

“Many Muslims work at the hospital and the institution is a neighbour to one of the city’s largest mosques,” Muhammed added.

“This is an attack on all of us and the values we all hold dear. We thank the emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to the attack.”

Muhammed said that the city “has a special place in the history of the British Muslims, being home to one of the earliest Muslim communities in Victorian England.”

“We join Liverpool’s mosques and Islamic centres as they pray for peace and calm in the city.”

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In a separate statement, mosques and Muslim organisations in Liverpool said the attack “has shocked all of us.”

Describing the attack as “cowardly and heinous,” they condemned it with “strongest possible terms.”

According to police, Perry’s taxi burned down outside the hospital after a device brought into the taxi by a passenger exploded.

Suspicious of the passenger, Perry reportedly locked him in before he could get inside the hospital with the explosive device.

The passenger died in the incident.

“Remarkably, the taxi driver escaped from the cab, he’s being treated for injuries he sustained and is now released from hospital,” police said.​​​​​​​

Also praising Perry, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said: “It does look as though the taxi driver in question did behave with incredible presence of mind and bravery.”

The UK threat level on Monday was raised to “severe,” which means a terror attack in the country is “highly likely.”​​​​​​​