Luke Marsden column: I'm grieving for Southport
What happened in Southport should be classed as domestic terrorism!
Like the nation, I’m truly sickened to the pits of my stomach over the horrific murders of innocent children in Southport by a knife-wielding attacker. .
This is now the second consecutive column in a row that I’ve sadly had to write about knife attacks, this shouldn’t be happening in a modern, civilised Britain. Wigan’s recent knife attack was nothing in comparison to the murders of children as they attended a Taylor Swift inspired dance class. I’m not a parent so I cannot comprehend the loss, anger and overwhelming sadness those families must now feel.
Where do we go from here? Parents dropping their children off for a fun summer activity to then never see them again. Britain is better than this and we’re certainly better than the disgraceful riots and attacks on police officers that we’ve seen in the aftermath of the Southport knife attacks. The last thing anyone needs is to have a group of individuals attacking like lunatics, thugs and causing nothing but a mess for an already broken community to have to clean up. Nearly 40 injured police officers isn’t the way forward, we must do better.
I’d also like to pay tribute to ex-Wigan Warriors star Joel Verite who displayed a selfless act of heroism, running into the dance studio, not truly knowing what to expect and then be faced with the armed knife attacker. He is the sort of person who deserves actual praise on the Wigan Walk of Fame and I implore the decision makers to think strongly about this.
Once the police investigation is finished and all the facts are established, I believe we need to have a national conversation about how we actually educate and tackle knife crime and ultimately, what punishments it carries. I have a punishment in mind for this crime that I simply cannot write in this column, but you could have a guess. I’ve donated to the Taylor Swift, Swiftie fans inspired Just Giving page and I’d encourage you to do the same if you can. I’m no longer a religious person but if I was, I’d be praying for Southport and those families, this should never have happened!