So what happens when ISIS supporters carry out a successful 'action' in the UK?

MI5 and the Met have foiled a plot to carry out a beheading on UK soil in support of ISIS in the past couple of days. That's what we're being told and we have no reason to question it. The use of such threats of 'terror' on our streets to enact ever more surveillance measures seems to me to have nowhere further to go. There is now one surveillance camera for every 11 people in the UK; they can access your phone records and internet usage at will it seems and will soon be putting tracking devices in cars and mobile phones so you can be tracked 24/7.

Remind me again who is winning this war on freedom?

But it seems that it is only a matter of time before some ISIS - or lets be clearer about this, Islamic extremist - terror is visited on the streets of the UK.

So what happens then?

What happened the last time this happened with Lee Rigby was that it was largely ignored by the establishment as a 'one off' and not something that represented the 'religion of peace'.

But next time? And sadly there will be a next time - I think that is inevitable now. What then?

'Inevitable' because when one is fighting an avowed enemy for whom martyrdom is glorious and comes with the promise of eternal paradise in the next world, and this is indoctrinated into people from a very young age, you have very little chance of preventing it.

And given that some 500 people have already left the UK to fight for ISIS and Islam in the Middle East, we're not just talking about 'foreign people in a far off land' but our own fellow citizens.

So what does happen next time?

It seems to me that our approach is a bit like the 'Jihadi John' bullshit that is being espoused: find him and kill him. He's just a single person amongst a groundswell of thousands of others. Killing him will send a message, but it will not solve the problem and by being specific, by wanting revenge, we are ignoring the much bigger issues and arguably playing into the hands of the people we want to eradicate.

We can't stop these nutters one at a time. We have to deal with them collectively and completely. And that does not just mean in the Middle East, but here at home too.

So how do we react when it happens in the UK - as it surely will?

In my view the Muslim community in the UK can either come out and let us know that there are 'Moderate Muslims' in our midst, people who share our values and views as Brits, and who abhor what is going on. Or they can continue to ignore the problem with trite bollocks like 'have you read the Quran?' or 'how many Muslims do you know; have you spoken to about this?'

It is not good enough now and nor will it be when this next atrocity happens. We do need to speak with Muslims in the UK, and soon. We need to know where their loyalties lie and that they are on the same side as us. I really don't think that this is clear enough at the moment and it needs to be.

For the benefit of British Muslims and those of us who are not followers of Islam.

The alternative is not pretty. For anyone. Not for Muslims who just want a quiet life in the UK but are being bullied into submission or quiescence by extremists in their own communities. It's time for them to stand up and be counted and to make their voice heard.

We are, as a nation, extremely tolerant and generous; slow to rile and slow to understand sometimes. But when pushed to our limit, which is close now, we tend not to fuck about. We tend to do what is right. And when that happens you're best advised to be on our side.

Thanks for reading.