Gay man pledges to keep ‘flirting with handsome men’ after London terror attack
By Ross Semple
A gay London resident has been praised for a comments he made during an interview with the BBC after the London terror attack.
Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in a terror incident in London when a white van struck pedestrians at London Bridge, which was followed by a series of stabbings at nearby Borough Market, shortly after 10pm on Saturday (June 3).
Three suspects, wearing what police have confirmed to be hoax explosive vests, were shot and killed by officers.
Richard Angell, who was at Borough Market during the second attack, has worked in London since he left university. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, he said: “I love this place”.
Angell praised the people of Manchester for the unity they showed after last month’s attack at an Ariana Grande concert, and said that London Mayor Sadiq Khan “symbolises that unity and diversity that we love about London”.
Richard was adamant in his view that life should carry on as normal in the aftermath of these attacks.
“We’re not going to let these people win,” Richard told a reporter. “If me having a gin and tonic with my friends, flirting with handsome men, hanging out with brilliant women, is what offends these people so much, I’m going to do it more not less.
“That’s what makes London so great. That’s what makes this the best city in the world.”
Richard went on to say that the response from the emergency services on the night were “just phenomenal”, and said that the police were the “eyes and ears” for people like him who were trying to get away from the scene of the attack.
He finished the interview with a rousing speech on why we cannot let incidents like this change anything about our way of life: “They hate our democracy, go vote people. They hate our equality, go meet somebody you haven’t met before from a different part of the world.
“Small-minded, cowardly, evil people should not change our way of life.”
Watch the interview below:
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