Counter-terror police investigate arson at former Whitechapel synagogue as Hayi-claimed campaign on London Jewish sites continues
Counter-terrorism police are investigating a suspected arson attack at the former East London Central Synagogue in Whitechapel, where the London Fire Brigade put out a small exterior fire reported at 05:16 BST on May 5; the Metropolitan Police said initial CCTV footage showed the fire was started deliberately, and there were no injuries. Cdr Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing, said officers were examining potential links to a string of arson attacks on Jewish sites in north and north-west London since late March, and to a double stabbing in Golders Green being treated as terrorism. Most of those incidents have been claimed by a group calling itself Hayi, suspected of being Iran-backed.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating a suspected arson attack at the former East London Central Synagogue in Whitechapel, the Metropolitan Police said on May 5. The fire was reported at 05:16 BST on Tuesday; initial CCTV footage indicated it was started deliberately. The London Fire Brigade said its crews had put out "a small fire affecting the exterior of the building" and that the cause was being investigated alongside the Met. There were no reports of any injuries.
Det Ch Supt Brittany Clarke, who leads policing in the area, said the force was taking the incident "extremely seriously" and would work with counter-terrorism colleagues. "The building targeted has not been operational as a synagogue for some years but that will be of little comfort to the Jewish community in Tower Hamlets, Hackney and beyond, who are first in my thoughts this morning," she said.
Cdr Helen Flanagan, the head of counter-terrorism policing, said officers were examining potential links between the Whitechapel fire and recent attacks on the Jewish community in north and north-west London. The Met was providing "security advice and support" to organisations, community venues and businesses, she added: "With the threat level now raised to severe, everyone can play their part to keep themselves and their communities safe." The threat level was raised on April 30 after an earlier antisemitic attack in London.
The former synagogue was due to be sold at auction earlier this year, with a separate bid lodged by a Muslim group to buy the building and convert it into a mosque and community centre.
Since late March there has been a series of arson attacks at Jewish sites in London, alongside a double stabbing in Golders Green that is being treated as an act of terrorism. Most of the attacks have been claimed by a group called Hayi, suspected to be Iran-backed and intended to sow division in Britain.
Hamzah, who lives near the former synagogue, told the BBC: "I came out this morning and saw it was all blocked off ... I heard there was a firebomb on the synagogue. That synagogue has been turned into a mosque so I don't know why someone would petrol bomb it." Another resident told Radio London the attack was "horrible" and "I wouldn't expect it to happen here of all places."