The UK government has raised the national terrorism threat level from “substantial” to “severe”, indicating that an attack is now considered highly likely within the next six months, The Guardian. The move follows Wednesday’s stabbing of two Jewish men in north London, an incident the Metropolitan Police is investigating as terrorism-related.
However, the government clarified on Thursday evening that the decision was not based solely on the Golders Green attack. Officials said it was also prompted by a broader rise in Islamist and extreme right-wing threats.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Britain’s Jewish community.
The UK’s threat level was last classified as severe in February 2022.
‘British government committed to tackling antisemitism’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the change would understandably cause concern, particularly among Jewish communities that have already faced significant distress. She said the government remained committed to tackling antisemitism and pointed to recently announced additional funding for policing and security measures at Jewish sites.
Mahmood also urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police.
Speaking outside New Scotland Yard shortly after the announcement, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, who leads the Met’s counter-terrorism unit, said the UK had been facing a steadily evolving terror threat. He said investigations were increasing across multiple ideologies, with authorities noting a heightened threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions.
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Taylor also cited growing concerns over an unpredictable international security landscape, including physical threats linked to state actors.
He said police would review security arrangements for events nationwide.
45-year-old suspect remains in custody
Police have confirmed that 45-year-old Essa Suleiman remains in custody on suspicion of attempting to murder 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine during Wednesday’s attack, reported BBC.
The Metropolitan Police said Suleiman had previously been referred to Prevent, the UK’s anti-radicalisation programme, in 2020, though the case was closed later that year.
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Investigators are also examining whether he may be connected to a separate incident in south-east London on Tuesday.
The latest attack comes after several incidents involving Jewish communities across the UK in recent months.
In October last year, two Jewish people were killed and three others seriously injured in a car-ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in Manchester. One of the victims died after being shot by police.
Earlier this year, four ambulances owned by Jewish charity Hatzola were set alight in the car park of a Golders Green synagogue.
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More recently, Finchley Reform Synagogue in north London was vandalised, while a bottle containing an accelerant was thrown through the window of Kenton United Synagogue days later.
Suleiman, who was born in Somalia and arrived in the UK as a child in the early 1990s, is a British citizen.
The decision to raise the threat level was made by security and intelligence specialists at the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), independently of ministers.
The UK was previously placed at ‘severe’ threat level in November 2021 following the explosion outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the killing of MP Sir David Amess.
It was lowered to ‘substantial’ in February 2022.
The UK’s five terrorism threat levels are:
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- Critical: an attack is highly likely in the near future
- Severe: an attack is highly likely
- Substantial: an attack is likely
- Moderate: an attack is possible but not likely
- Low: an attack is highly unlikely
Security Minister Dan Jarvis urged the public to stay alert without becoming alarmed.
He said intelligence agencies, police and the government were working continuously to ensure public safety.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said additional police officers, including armed personnel, would be deployed across the capital.
He said every effort was being made to keep Londoners and visitors safe.
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The government said the higher threat level also reflects increased concern over state-linked physical threats that may be encouraging acts of violence, including those directed at Jewish communities.
