Sir Keir Starmer has pledged additional funding to protect Britain’s Jewish community after two men were stabbed in north London in what police are treating as a terrorist incident.
The Prime Minister made the commitment following a Cobra meeting convened to coordinate the government’s response to the attack in Golders Green, in which a 76-year-old man and a 34-year-old man were wounded. Both victims are in a stable condition, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Speaking after the meeting, Sir Keir said he had been in contact with the Community Security Trust, the organisation that provides security for Jewish communities. “There is enhanced funding already in place. We need to increase that to give the level of protection that is needed,” he said.
The Prime Minister added that ministers must “take measures to deal with malign state actors” while also addressing “the root causes of extremism and antisemitism”. He is due to meet criminal justice agencies tomorrow.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch went further, describing the safety of Jewish people as a “national emergency”. Speaking to broadcasters at the scene, she said the threat had been “escalating in terms of terrorist attacks and antisemitic incidents”, and that the community was “absolutely terrified”.
Mrs Badenoch called for an increased police presence in areas with significant Jewish populations and urged the government to fund Shomrim, the volunteer organisation that responded to the initial reports of the stabbing and which currently relies on donations from local communities. She also pressed for additional money for the Community Security Trust. “What has been happening so far has not been enough,” she said.
According to the BBC, the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis named the victims on X as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila, urging followers to “join me in praying for a swift and complete recovery”.
A timeline assembled by BBC Verify, drawing on CCTV and footage shared on social media, traces the suspect’s movements through the area. He was first seen on Highfield Avenue at 11:15 BST, jogging along the pavement before appearing to attack a man and chase him out of view. The Metropolitan Police were called at 11:16. By 11:20, CCTV showed the suspect approaching a bus stop on Golders Green Road and repeatedly attacking a man before pushing him into the road. Subsequent footage verified by the BBC shows officers using two Tasers to detain the suspect, after which police administered CPR before he was taken away on a stretcher.
For residents, the attack has deepened a sense of unease. Daniela, a 29-year-old mother from Hendon, told the BBC she had been walking to the butcher when she heard screaming. “The next thing I know we hear screaming, ‘he’s got a knife run’,” she said. “A man in a car told me someone had been stabbed. That’s when we knew to run.”
She and a group of mothers with buggies took shelter in a nearby bookshop, where the owner locked the door. From inside, she saw the suspect pass by heading towards the North Circular Road. “He was wearing light grey trousers and a big backpack,” she said. “It is scary that as Jews living in the area we just don’t feel safe anymore.”
Eli V, 42, a friend of the younger victim, described him as “a terrific guy” from the local area. “We are a very close community. We know everyone,” he told the BBC. “You don’t find this community anywhere else in the world.” He said his wife was now afraid to leave the house.
Counter-terrorism investigators are aware of an online claim of responsibility from a little-known group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, or Hayi — translated as The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand. According to BBC Monitoring, the group attributes the stabbings to a “lone” attacker and has circulated footage from the scene. It has previously claimed involvement in six other attacks on Jewish-affiliated buildings or interests in the UK.
The BBC reports that the group could be a proxy for the Iranian regime, with its claims promoted on pro-Shia Telegram channels, although no evidence has been provided to substantiate the assertion. Investigators have urged caution, noting that such claims can be opportunistic, in the manner of statements once issued by Islamic State concerning attacks in which it had no direct role.
Sir Keir said the priority now was reassurance. “It’s our job to make sure [Jewish communities] feel safe and secure,” he said. “It’s our job to make sure that we absolutely deal with the roots of antisemitism and extremism — that is what we will do.”
