London terror incident latest: Two Jewish victims of ‘appalling’ Golders Green stabbing named as man arrested

The Prime Minister said he will meet with criminal justice agencies on Thursday following the suspected terror attack in Golders Green.

Sir Keir Starmer told broadcasters: “The Government is taking action to address security, cohesion and extremism, but of course it is our responsibility to co-ordinate the immediate response to this terrible attack, ensure security and take other measures.

“I will be holding a meeting with criminal justice agencies tomorrow to make sure we have effective and speedy justice in these cases.

“But we also have to be aware of the level of anxiety and concern that I know the Jewish community has in terms of feeling very exposed and unprotected, feeling like they have to hide their identity, sometimes in healthcare, sometimes in school, on the streets where they live.

“It’s our job to make sure they feel safe and secure. It’s our job to make sure we’re definitely tackling the roots of anti-Semitism and extremism. That’s what we’re going to do.”

Sir Keir Starmer suggested the Government would tackle the “root causes of extremism and antisemitism” following the attack in Golders Green.

He told broadcasters: “I have convened a Cobra meeting, bringing together all relevant partners, including the Home Secretary, the Mayor of London, the Metropolitan (Police) commissioner, to co-ordinate our response and ensure increased security.

“I have also spoken to CST. There is already increased funding. We need to increase this to provide the level of protection needed.”

“We need to take measures to deal with malicious state actors, but we also need to be really clear that we need to get to the root causes of extremism and antisemitism, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Sir Keir Starmer said he would visit Golders Green “as soon as possible” following today’s “horrific attack”.

He acknowledged that the attack was the latest in a series of anti-Semitic incidents.

The Prime Minister added: “Let’s be clear, this is not an isolated incident. There have been a number of anti-Semitic attacks and I know first-hand the anxiety and anxiety this has created in the community.

“I was at the Kenton synagogue last week and heard a lot about this level of anxiety. It’s going to get worse after today.”

“We are very in touch with the community and I will visit as soon as possible.”

The Crown Prosecution Service said prosecutors specializing in terrorism were working with police after two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green on Wednesday.

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said: “My thoughts are with the victims of today’s horrific attack in Golders Green and the Jewish community at this very difficult time.

“Specialist prosecutors in the Counter-Terrorism Branch are working closely with the police to bring those responsible to justice.

“We will not tolerate the scourge of antisemitism and will do everything in our power to prosecute those responsible.”

Sir Keir Starmer has been told he must tackle the “epidemic” of antisemitic attacks in Britain after two Jewish men were brutally stabbed by a knifeman in a terror attack in London.

Disturbing CCTV footage captured the moment a man wearing a white T-shirt and dark jacket launched an unprovoked attack on an elderly man wearing a kippah, the Jewish skullcap, near a bus stop in Golders Green, north London.

Eyewitnesses said the alleged attacker suddenly pulled out a knife and attacked the man at around 11.15am on Wednesday morning, then walked away and left his victim bleeding from his neck. Later footage shows the knife-wielding man running to catch up with another Jewish man who screams in terror and runs away.

Read our crime reporter Amy-Clare Martin’s full article here:

Terrorism law watchdog calls for pro-Palestinian marches to be suspended following anti-Semitic attack.

Jonathan Hall told Times Radio that antisemitic language had been “incubated” in the protests, while describing the current wave of attacks on Jewish sites as a “major national security emergency”.

He said: “I think we’ve reached a point now where… the current political leadership has to make a case for Britons who are being targeted on a daily basis who are deeply uncomfortable with what’s going on at the moment.”

Mr Hall continued: “It pains me to say this, but I think we may have reached a point where we need to impose a moratorium on the types of marches that take place.

“It’s obviously impossible right now for any of the pro-Palestinian marches to not develop some sort of anti-Semitic or demonizing language within them.

“Let’s think about it, there is an attack on the British every day.

“You might have thought that if something like this happened, you could take a break from a language we don’t know, but it seems to me, and I’ve said this before, that it’s putting a target on their backs when Jews are being demonized so much.”

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis gave the names of the victims in today’s attack as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila.

“Please join me in praying for a speedy and full recovery for the victims of today’s attack,” he said on social media.

People who are “visibly Jewish” are no longer safe in the UK, the Chief Rabbi has said.

Sir Ephraim Mervis told BBC News: “I am sad to say that today’s incident proves that if you are visibly Jewish you are not safe and much more needs to be done.

He added: “This is a sustained effort to terrorize the Jewish community and it will not succeed because we are a strong and resilient community.

“We face such attacks, these events, with great fortitude. But this cannot be allowed to continue like this.”

He stressed that more needed to be done to combat the causes of antisemitism.

“We need to address the causes, not just the symptoms. We need to recognize that state-sponsored terrorism on the streets of our country is completely unacceptable,” he said.

The Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth and Israel’s foreign ministry are calling for action following a series of incidents targeting the Jewish community in the UK.

Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign ministry said recent attacks on Jewish sites meant “the UK Government can no longer claim that this is under control”.

A look at attacks on Jewish sites in the UK last month: