UK raises terror threat level to 'severe' after Golders Green stabbing of two Jewish men

Britain's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the national terrorism threat level from 'substantial' to 'severe' on Thursday — the second-highest of the UK's five levels, indicating an attack is judged 'highly likely' within six months — following an antisemitic stabbing in Golders Green in north London. 'Today, the national threat level has increased to severe, which means a terrorist attack is considered highly likely,' Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement. The UK last sat at 'severe' after the 2021 Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing and the killing of MP David Amess; it was lowered to 'substantial' in February 2022.

On Wednesday, two Jewish men — Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76 — were stabbed in Golders Green, an area home to a large Jewish community. Both were taken to hospital; Rand has since been discharged and Shine is in stable condition. The Metropolitan Police declared the attack a terrorist incident.

Essa Suleiman, 45, a British citizen born in Somalia who came to the UK in the 1990s, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place over the Golders Green attack, and with a third count of attempted murder relating to a separate stabbing earlier the same day at the south-London home of an acquaintance of about 20 years. He appeared in court on Friday, did not enter a plea, and remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on 15 May. Police said Suleiman had been referred to the government's Prevent counter-extremism programme in 2020, but the case was closed the same year. Suleiman was a patient of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

Pro-Iranian group HAYI — short for the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand and largely unknown until recent weeks — claimed responsibility. The Centre said the rise in threat 'was not solely' due to Wednesday's attack but reflected a longer-running increase in 'the broader Islamist and Extreme Right Wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the UK.'

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who visited Golders Green on Thursday, pledged the government would 'do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.' His government is providing an extra £25 million (€28 million; $33 million) for police patrols and Jewish-community security and is fast-tracking legislation to give authorities stronger powers against state-sponsored proxy groups. Starmer was met by protesters carrying signs reading 'Keir Starmer, Jew harmer.' Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on 28 February, British police have arrested 26 people in connection with attacks linked to that wave; recent incidents include the Finchley Reform Synagogue, the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow and the premises of a Jewish charity.

Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley told LBC that the arresting officers — who used a taser on Suleiman before further force, including kicks to the head captured on video — were 'shaken' and feared the attacker might be carrying an explosive device. Rowley wrote to Green Party leader Zack Polanski objecting to a social-media post accusing officers of 'repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man,' calling it 'inaccurate and misinformed.' Rowley told Times Radio Britain was 'facing a building pandemic of antisemitism.' Police said they would assess upcoming pro-Palestine protests in London for further restrictions.