British Jews and Israeli institutions in the UK have faced a growing threat since the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, MI5 has warned, as the Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he needs 300 more officers to tackle the “pandemic” in the UK.
Britain’s terror threat level on Thursday was raised to “severe”, meaning authorities believe an attack in the UK is “highly likely” in the next six months, after the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London.
Revealing its reasons for the move on Friday, 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”.
In a further stark warning, Sir Mark said he was “very concerned” about the force’s ability to sustain the uptick in policing in Jewish communities, saying he would need an extra 300 officers, including firearms support.
He told Times Radio: “I hope we get some resolution on the funding conversations with government imminently. It’s good they’ve made some interim funding announcements, but to be able to recruit and sustain that, I need some urgent updates.”
The Golders Green stabbings are the latest in a series of attacks on Jewish sites since the outbreak of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Iran, and have prompted accusations that the UK government has not done enough to tackle antisemitism.
MI5 warned that “we are also seeing a sustained and significant tempo of state-linked threats, including to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions”. It said the decision to raise the threat level had been taken after the stabbings in north London, but it was not solely as a result of the incident. One of the motivations for raising the terror threat level is to try to dissuade potential copycat attacks, it is understood.
One intelligence official told The Independent it would “be a mistake” to draw direct links between the alleged Golders Green attacker, who is known to have mental health issues, and organised terrorism against all Jews.
“But there are concerns across Europe that Israelis and Israeli institutions may be targeted by people who have been radicalised by what they consume on social media from Gaza and now Iran,” they said.
“Angry people are easily influenced and driven to violence against other groups – sadly, Jewish people now get associated with what Israel is accused of doing. That is antisemitism in a pure form,” they added.
Two intelligence sources in the Middle East said there is a “febrile atmosphere” due to world events, which was likely to be exploited by states seeking proxies to carry out destabilising operations of the kind already seen by Russia across Europe.
“Just as it has been with Isis-inspired groups, it is the self-starting lone wolf who is hardest to track and easiest to influence,” said a Middle Eastern intelligence official.
The last time the terror threat was this high in the UK was in November 2021 after a bombing outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the murder of Tory MP, Sir David Amess. It was then lowered to substantial in February 2022.
Outlining its reasons for raising it again, MI5 said it 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”.
John Mann, the government’s independent adviser on antisemitism, has said raising the level was “inevitable”, adding that the recent string of attacks followed a “sustained hostility to people in the Jewish community”.
Speaking about how he would respond to the increased threat amid concerns over policing resources, Sir Mark said he was considering whether police powers should be used to limit two upcoming protests in London – one a pro-Palestine march and the other a rally led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
The force had more than 31,000 police officers in March this year, according to the latest Met Police statistics, a fall of more than 2,000 since 2024. The Home Office said on Thursday that it would invest a further £25m into increased police patrols and security to keep Jewish communities safe. But Sir Mark has called for more support.
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.”
Speaking about the impact of the threat level rising, counterterrorism analyst and former director of security for Iran International TV, Roger Macmillan, said: “What you will potentially see is more overt policing. More policing in key areas, especially ones that are designated as a potential risk area.
“What we don't see is where the work really takes place: security services, international partners, and our own police forces, especially the counterterrorism policing, what they do in the background, which is, you know, the unseen, long, thankless hours of slog, keeping us safe.”
Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, said there was a good argument for raising the threat level earlier. He said the increase in threat level would “free up resources”, adding: “It makes it into an emphasis, the government has also decided to protect Jewish sites. It’s a focusing of the security services’ minds and resources on that issue. People are expecting something else will happen.”
He said the UK faces threats from different areas, explaining: “You still have the Russians, which are a very significant threat. You still have the generally radicalised Islamists because of the conflict in the Middle East. It’s coming from all sides, you have of course, the violence of the left-wing extremists. It’s been a while since it’s been that complex, and now you have this added Iran threat.
“The UK is not alone, there is the same situation in France, Germany and other European countries”.
