Police say the suspect in a Golders Green stabbing that injured two Jewish men had been referred to Prevent in 2020, as ministers pledge new security funding.
A man arrested after two Jewish men were stabbed in north London had previously been referred to the U.K. government’s counter-extremism Prevent program, police said, adding a new point of scrutiny to an attack they have labelled terrorism.
The victims, aged 34 and 76, were injured Wednesday in Golders Green, a north London area at the centre of Britain’s Jewish community. Both remained in hospital in stable condition, according to the report. Police arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder and said detectives were still working to establish a motive, including whether there is any link to Iranian proxies.
The suspect has not been publicly named. Police said he had “a history of serious violence and mental health issues” and that his Prevent file, opened after a referral in 2020, was closed later that year. They did not disclose why he had been referred.
The attack has sharpened political pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government after a series of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London. Starmer was heckled Thursday by about 100 protesters during a visit to Golders Green, where demonstrators held signs accusing him of failing the Jewish community.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was treating antisemitism as “an emergency” and described it as the most pressing security issue she faced. The government announced 25 million pounds, or about $46 million Cdn, for additional police patrols and protection around synagogues, schools and community centres.
One of the men stabbed, Shilome Rand, told ITV News that the attack had deepened fear among Jewish residents. “People are really concerned, people are afraid, people are uncomfortable walking in the street,” he said, adding that some in the community blamed the government for not doing enough.
Authorities are also assessing an online claim of responsibility for the stabbing made under the name Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia. Mahmood said investigators were examining whether the claim was credible or opportunistic. The same name has appeared in claims tied to some recent arson attacks, though security experts cited in the report warned it may be used as a flag of convenience rather than representing a coherent organization.
Police say 28 people have been arrested in connection with the recent arson attacks, which caused no injuries. A small number have been charged, and one teenager has been convicted after pleading guilty.
Britain has accused Iran of using criminal proxies to carry out attacks in Europe against Iranian opposition media and Jewish targets. MI5 has said more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots were disrupted in the year ending in October. Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley said Wednesday that some individuals were being encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit violence for foreign organizations and hostile states.
The immediate questions now are whether police can establish a motive in the Golders Green stabbing, whether the online claim is linked to the attacker, and why the suspect’s earlier Prevent case was closed.
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