Keir Starmer ‘appalled’ after another arson attack at London synagogue

Multiple arson or attempted arson attacks have been investigated on Jewish property in the area in the past month.

The Prime Minister has said he is “appalled” after another attempted arson attack at a north-west London synagogue following a spate of similar incidents.

Counter-terror police are leading probes into multiple arson and attempted arson attacks at Jewish sites in the area in the past month.

Officers on “deterrence and reassurance patrols” in the wake of the previous incidents spotted damage to a window of Kenton United Synagogue, Harrow, at around midnight on Sunday.

A “bottle with some sort of accelerant had been thrown through the window” and smoke was seen inside a room, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.

“The incident is being treated as arson and an investigation is under way led by Counter Terrorism Policing London, supported by local officers”, it added.

Minor smoke damage to an internal room was caused but no injuries or significant structural damage, the Community Security Trust (CST) said.

Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter: “I am appalled by recent attempted antisemitic arson attacks in North London.

“This is abhorrent and it will not be tolerated. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain.

“We are increasing visible policing and those responsible will be found and brought to justice. We will not rest in the pursuit of perpetrators.”

The building is close to a school and children’s playground, and police were seen searching a black SUV nearby on Sunday morning.

A large cordon is in place and a forensics officer, fire investigation dogs and several plainclothes officers were working at the scene.

One marked and about five unmarked police cars were outside the place of worship.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called it “a cowardly arson attack” and said “a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation against the Jewish community of the UK is gathering momentum”.

His statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, said: “It follows the attack in Finchley on Wednesday and the attempted attack on what was the Jewish Futures building in Hendon on Friday night, making three Jewish sites attacked in London in less than a week.”

He added: “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.

“Thank God, no lives have been lost, but we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society.”

This comes hours after the Metropolitan Police deployed extra resources to parts of north-west London as it treated an attempted arson on Friday night as an antisemitic hate crime.

CTP London is also leading the investigation into the incident in Hendon, Barnet, as well as probes into prior attacks because of the “similar circumstances and online claims of responsibility”, the Met said previously on Saturday.

A man had been spotted approaching a row of Hendon shops carrying a plastic bag later found to contain three bottles of fluid, the force added.

He placed the bag by a building before lighting the items inside and fleeing the scene when they failed to fully ignite, according to police.

The former Jewish Futures building sustained minor damage to its shopfront with no injuries reported.

On Wednesday, bottles, one thought to contain petrol, were placed near Finchley Reform Synagogue in Fallow Court Avenue, Finchley.

Officers said two people, who were wearing dark clothing and balaclavas, were seen approaching the synagogue just after midnight.

Neither of the bottles were ignited and the people fled the scene, the force added, with no damage or injuries reported.

This came after four Jewish community ambulances were torched in Golders Green in the early hours of March 23.

Armed response vehicles, CTP resources and police motorbikes were deployed to Barnet after the Hendon attack, and a “significantly increased” number of uniformed and plain clothed Met officers will be visible through the weekend.

Extra stop and search powers were also granted across the borough.

A spokesperson for the CST, the charity which monitors antisemitism and provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK, said: “We are aware of another attempted arson, this time targeting a synagogue in north London, following similar recent incidents targeting the Jewish community in Finchley, Golders Green and Hendon.

“We want to thank the Met Police and London Fire Brigade for responding quickly and for all they are doing to protect the Jewish community during this unprecedented period.

“We are supporting the affected location and are working closely with the police as they investigate and seek to identify those responsible.”

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said this “is now terrifyingly becoming a spate of daily arson attacks on the Jewish community”.