A spate of attacks on Jewish sites in London raises the “troubling” prospect of a foreign state using hate crime to sow discord in the UK, one of the country’s most senior police officers has said.
Investigators are working to establish whether Iran has paid British criminals to carry out acts on UK soil, after a series of incidents including an arson attack on Jewish community ambulances and attempted arson attacks at synagogues in Finchley and Kenton and a former Jewish charity in Hendon.
Another incident saw a drone flown near the Israeli embassy in London, and a petrol bomb was thrown towards the site of Volant Media, the parent company of Persian news channel Iran International.
A group that calls itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, that is suspected to be Iran-backed, has claimed responsibility for most of the incidents, along with other attacks in Europe, since March 9.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes told LBC: “We’re going to look incredibly closely at whether those claims stand up.
“They’re intended to intimidate so we have to distinguish what’s happening online and being broadcast and claimed, from those things we can prove.
“But I think this is an extraordinary period.
“We’ve sadly seen hate crime in our communities before, we’ve seen radicalisation towards terrorism.
“But now what we’ve got is the prospect of a foreign state actually using that as a mechanism to sow discord, discontent and to create anxiety in our communities.
“That is really troubling.”
“Thugs for hire” are risking long prison sentences for inconsequential amounts of money if they agree to carry out crimes for foreign states, he told the broadcaster.
Mr Jukes gave the example of Dylan Earl, who was jailed for 17 years after agreeing to carry out an arson attack in Leyton, east London, for the Russian-backed Wagner group in 2024.
Later on a visit to Finchley Reform Synagogue, he called on social media companies to do more to take down antisemitic posts.
Mr Jukes told the Press Association: ““We will continue to work hard on the online space. It is a job for the wider security, intelligence services and counter-terrorism policing. But it’s also something we think that the platforms could contribute more to, because there is online sharing and promulgation of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“You can see those even this week, after instances that have affected synagogues like this one here, people have to look at antisemitic posts about conspiracy theories, and claims that it’s a false flag operation by Mossad.
“That kind of content is helping create an environment that some have described as ambient antisemitism, but it’s actually very visible antisemitism, and I believe we would ask that platforms play their part in addressing that.”
Attorney General Lord Hermer, one of the country’s most senior Jewish politicians, said the “full force of the law” would be used against those found responsible for the attacks.
He said: “This campaign of intimidation against the Jewish community will not succeed.
“The Government stands resolute in tackling antisemitism and we will not hesitate to use the full force of the law against perpetrators.
“The United Kingdom is a brilliant, diverse and multicultural society and those who seek to divide us will never win.”
So far 15 people have been arrested over the six incidents in London since March 23.
The most recent attack saw a petrol bomb thrown through the window of Kenton United Synagogue at around midnight on Sunday, landing in a medical room.
Jewish charity the Community Security Trust (CST) said that minor smoke damage to an internal room was caused but said there were no injuries or significant structural damage.
Mr Jukes earlier told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a 17-year-old boy and 19-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the incident.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis described the arson attack as “cowardly” and said “a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum”.
His statement shared on X said: “This sustained attack on our community’s ability to worship and live in safety is an attack on the values that bind us all together.”
Video that appears to be published online by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, also known as Hayi, shows a person in dark clothing lighting an item and throwing it at the Kenton United Synagogue before running away.
It was filmed by another person behind the metal fence surrounding the building.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “appalled by recent attempted antisemitic arson attacks in north London”.
He added in his statement on X: “This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain.”
Later in the Commons, Home Office minister Dan Jarvis said those who carry out hostile acts against the UK will face “severe consequences”, and assured MPs that Iran would be held to account.
Shadow Home Office minister Matt Vickers said attacks on the Jewish community have become a “national emergency” and called for the Government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, for “large numbers” of Iranian diplomats to be expelled from the country, and for any foreign national expressing extremist views to be deported.
