The British government has promised a rapid overhaul of laws and policing after two Jewish men were stabbed in north London in an attack claimed by a pro-Iran group.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday visited the street where the men were attacked. He was heckled by protesters as he arrived, and did not speak publicly at the site.
Police across the country have increased patrols in response to the attack, in which the two men – Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, 76 – were injured, requiring treatment in hospital.
A 45-year-old man, identified by police as a Somalian-born British citizen, was arrested after the incident.
Police sources confirmed that the man had been referred to the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme six years ago, but no action had been taken against him.
Speaking afterwards at Downing St, Mr Starmer acknowledged that Jews in the UK were scared as he observed “this anxiety that is always there went to another place, to terror”.
“This Government will do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out, we will strengthen our security and protect our Jewish community," he said. “But I also call on everyone decent in this country to open their eyes to Jewish pain, Jewish suffering and Jewish fear.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the man had arrived in Britain lawfully as a child during the 1990s as she and Mr Starmer met with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley at Downing Street on Thursday.
“I do think there’s a wider duty on all of us, in terms of confidence in the criminal justice system, to be able to deal with appalling attacks like this; to show that it can act in a swift, agile and visible way,” Sir Mark said at the meeting.
The suspect, who faces charges of attempted murder, remains in custody after being examined at a hospital, he added.
Ms Mahmood said that a new law enabling the government to ban state-backed groups would be unveiled in the coming weeks. The new powers tackles individuals or groups acting on behalf of state-sponsored organisations.
She also indicated that she would consider adding Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to the list of banned state-linked organisations.
She said it would be inappropriate to confirm such a move before the required laws are passed, but added that she would look at “all organisations that would then fall within the purview” of the legislation.
“Just to reassure you, the only reason I’m not giving a wider commentary on who this will include is because we would never give any commentary on organisations that we are considering for either our proscription regime … or indeed, this new regime,” Ms Mahmood said.
“I expect to be making decisions in the very near future about the groups that we will be designating as state-linked.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the authorities would take a new policing approach with a focus on counter extremism, including the launch of a new community policing hub in Golders Green.
Former prime minister Theresa May endorsed the UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis who called for “meaningful action” to tackle the root causes of anti-Semitism. The Board of Deputies of British Jews has said anti-Semitism must be “confronted, punished and deterred with the full force of the state”.
