David Cameron: We cannot allow 'openness to be confused with a tolerance of extremism'

Brett T. | 2:40 PM on September 01, 2014

As promised last Friday, one day after President Obama announced that “We don’t have a strategy yet” on dealing with ISIS, British Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the House of Commons Monday to address the terrorist threat posed by ISIS.

“We should be clear about the root cause of this threat,” Cameron told Parliament, “a poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism which believes in using the most brutal forms of terrorism to force people to accept a warped worldview and to live in a medieval state.”

(1/4) As I made clear in my Commons statement, my first priority as PM is to make sure we do everything possible to keep our people safe.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 1, 2014

(2/4) We are an open, tolerant and free nation. But we cannot stand by and allow our openness to be confused with a tolerance of extremism.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 1, 2014

(3/4) Adhering to British values is not an option or a choice – it is a duty for those who live in these islands.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 1, 2014

(4/4) It is only by standing up for these values that we will defeat extremism, protect our way of life and keep all our people safe.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) September 1, 2014

Among the measures Cameron announced was seizing the passports of suspected extremists who return to the U.K. from abroad.