Communities across the UK and the world will have been shocked and horrified by the cowardly terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. For us in Craven it is particularly close to home – a number of young children and parents from our district were present at the Ariana Grande concert. Manchester is also my home city and close to my heart and I’m proud of the way emergency services, businesses and ordinary citizens pulled together to help the victims of this atrocity.

I’m convinced the solution to defeating terrorism lies within our communities. We must work together to stamp out extremism and battle against fear and hatred. The people who carry out these attacks and those who persuade them to do so, seek to divide us. We must, more than ever, stand together and deliver a unified message.