There is an elevated threat to British Jews andIsraeliinstitutions in the UK following the conflict in theMiddle East,MI5has warned, following a decision to raise the terror threat level from substantial to severe.
The decision to raise the level was taken by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), an arm of MI5, yesterdayfollowing the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, London.
In a brief published on Friday, the domestic security service MI5 said the UK has been experiencing a gradual increase in terrorist threats for some time, driven by a rise in both Islamist and Extreme Right-Wing terror.
It said that the current threat was also characterised by an “elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions, in the context of the conflict in the Middle East, evident in recent incidents in the UK and overseas”.
MI5 warned that “we are also seeing a sustained and significant tempo of State-linked threats, including to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions”. The Golders Green stabbings are the latest in a series of attacks on Jewish sites since the outbreak of the Iran war and haveprompted accusations that the government has not done enough to tackle antisemitism.
A former translator Essa Suleiman has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place over the incident. It emerged on Thursday evening that Suleiman had been under the care of South London and Maudsley Trust’s mental health services earlier this week.
He has also been charged with another count of attempted murder in relation to a separate incident on Wednesday in Southwark, south-east London.
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“Severe” is the second-highest threat level and means attacks are highly likely in the next six months. The last time it was this high was in November 2021 after the bombing outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the murder of Sir David Amess.
It was then lowed to back to substantial in February 2022. MI5 also said that the current UK threat was influenced by a “significant volume, breadth and complexity of terrorist incidents and cases across various ideologies, including attack planning, extremist travel intent, and online and offline radicalisation”.
Lord John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, has said that the level rising was “inevitable”, adding that the recent string of attacks followed a “sustained hostility to people in the Jewish community”.
Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said on Friday morning that 300 extra police officers are needed across London to deal with a growing “pandemic” of antisemitism in the UK.
He said he was concerned about his ability to sustain the uptick in policing in Jewish communities, saying: “I hope we get some resolution on the funding conversations with government imminently”.
Asked about what people should do in reaction to the threat level being raised, Sir Mark told LBC radio: “It’s two things. There’s the practical about being alert, so don’t be alarmed, don’t be afraid, but be alert and help us by giving us information.”
This is a developing story. More to follow...
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