Starmer: Golders Green attack is ‘utterly appalling’
Keir Starmer described the Golders Green stabbings as “utterly appalling” and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Posting on X, he said:
The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling.
Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain. Thank you to Shomrim, Hatzola and the police for acting swiftly.
Those responsible will be brought to justice.
Key events
Aamna Mohdin
Baruch Stern, of Gross Butchers, a shop within the cordoned off area at the crime scene, said the government must take more action against antisemitic attacks and that they were “happening in different areas”.
He repeated that it was “terrible, terrible, terrible”.
He added: “I would say the community is always getting messages from Westminster, encouraging messages, they’ll do this and we’ll do that. But at the end of the day, it would be much more encouraging if they will take the words into action and do something about it.
“Because when something happens again and again … there is a big question mark here, what’s going on? Why are these things not getting treated a bit more drastically?
“People feel scared. People feel unsafe. People think, is it really the place for me to be here? Is the UK safe for Jewish people, or is it something we need to think about, moving away?”
Israel says UK must act ‘decisively and urgently’ against antisemitism
Israel’s foreign ministry has urged the UK to act “decisively and urgently” against antisemitism.
In a statement on X, the ministry said:
After attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutions, community ambulances and now Jews targeted in Golders Green, the UK government can no longer claim this is under control.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statements are no substitute for confronting the roots of antisemitism festering across United Kingdom.
British Jews should not need security patrols and emergency volunteers to live openly as Jews.
Enough words. The UK must act decisively and urgently.
More party leaders have reacted to the Golders Green attack.
Green party leader Zack Polanski described it as “horrendous”, adding:
Thinking of the victims, their families and everyone who will once again be shaken by this attack.
Thank you to all of those involved with the emergency response.
Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said:
Horrifying news from North London.
My heart goes out to the victims, their loved ones and the whole Jewish community. Hatred like this has no place in Britain.
The Government must do more to keep Jewish communities safe and confront antisemitism wherever it appears.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on the government to treat the rise of antisemitic attacks as a national emergency.
In a statement on social media, she said:
Jewish people in our country are under constant attack.
This is no longer a growing pattern. There is an epidemic of violence against Jewish people.
It is now a national emergency and needs to be treated as such by the Government and public authorities.
A pizza shop worker on Golders Green Road has said he helped an elderly stab victim after he saw him “bleeding” from his neck after he was attacked.
Tariq Aziz, who works at pizza takeaway shop Slice, told the Press Association: “He came to our shop and then I gave him a tissue and helped him, and then police came suddenly and arrest the guy.”
He said the suspect “wasn’t running away” after the attack and that when the police came, he pointed out the suspect as he was “just walking down there with a knife” and “the police arrested him.”
A large police cordon remains in place in Highfield Avenue, Golders Green, north London.
At least five police cars are at the scene and officers are speaking to residents as they leave the cordon.
Among them is Moishe Grunfeld, 52, who told the Press Association: “It happens in Israel, but happening on our own doorstep, of course it’s shocking.
“I have kids, I have grandchildren.”
Asked how he feels following a spate of antisemitic attacks in north London, Grunfeld said: “You push it away, you have to live on.”
The Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Sarah Sackman, said attacks “on British Jews are an attack on Britain itself”, after two men were stabbed in her constituency.
The courts minister said:
I have been made aware of a serious stabbing in Golders Green. The suspect has been detained. I want to thank the vital work of Shomrim, who apprehended the perpetrator; Hatzola, the police and CST (Community Security Trust).
The attacks on British Jews are an attack on Britain itself. It is unconscionable that Jews are being targeted in this way. I am meeting with the home secretary imminently to discuss the urgent situation.
The incident in Golders Green was raised in the Commons by Hornsey and Friern Barnet MP Catherine West.
She said:
The whole House will be very concerned to hear about the dreadful stabbings this morning in the borough of Barnet.
The Labour MP said she was “very worried about this repeated violence against the Jewish community”.
She added:
We condemn these alleged attacks and we wish the police, the council and all the community services the very best in solving this and bringing to justice those perpetrators of these violent crimes.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described the stabbings as “yet another appalling antisemitic attack”.
In a post on X, he said:
This is yet another appalling antisemitic attack. The Jewish community are not being properly protected from this hate.
We have seen Iran sponsoring antisemitic attacks and Islamist extremism run rampant. The Government must urgently step up tangible actions against antisemitism, Iran and Islamist extremism.
Specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing are leading the investigation and working with police to establish the full circumstances and any links to terrorism, the Met said in a statement.
Head of counter terrorism policing Laurence Taylor said:
Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened.
Thank you to those who were in the area at the time and supported the response to this terrible incident.
Detective chief superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in the area, added:
Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrific attack. We are grateful to officers who swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm.
We are aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause in the face of a number of incidents in the local area. A suspect is in custody, and investigators are considering all possible motives.
Officers will remain at the scene for some time to carry out further enquiries, speak to local people and offer reassurance.
Man, 45, arrested after double stabbing in Golders Green
A 45-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two men – one in his 70s and one in his 30s – were stabbed in Golders Green this morning, the Metropolitan Police said.
The force said in a statement:
An investigation is under way and a man has been arrested following a stabbing incident in Barnet.
At 11:16hrs on Wednesday 29 April, officers responded following reports of people stabbed in Highfield Avenue.
Local officers and armed officers attended, alongside the London Ambulance Service.
The suspect also attempted to stab police officers, and was Tasered before being arrested. No officers were injured.
Two men – one in his 70s and one in his 30s – were treated at the scene for stab wounds. They have been taken to hospital and both are in a stable condition.
Deputy prime minister David Lammy said the Golders Green attack is “horrific”.
“No one should live in fear because of who they are,” he said.
“We stand with the Jewish community and we must root out this hatred.”
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “My thoughts are with the victims of the abhorrent attack in Golders Green this morning, and the Jewish community.
“I’m grateful for the work of the community and the police in apprehending the suspect, and to the emergency services for their quick response.
“The suspect is now in custody and I’m being kept updated on the situation.”
Antisemitic hatred “is rising once again and we must defeat it,” Downing Street has said following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green.
“It’s a deeply shocking incident,” the prime minister’s spokesman told reporters.
“A live police investigation is under way so it would be inappropriate for me to go further than that.”
The official also said: “We know that many in the Jewish community face a daily threat of antisemitic hatred. And this is a hatred that is rising once again and we must defeat it.
“That’s why we’re backing the Jewish community with record levels of security funding and clear action to root out any antisemitism wherever it appears including in universities, charities and in the NHS.”
Here are some images from the scene in Golders Green this afternoon:
London mayor Sadiq Khan condemns ‘appalling’ attack
London mayor Sadiq Khan said the attack was “appalling” and that he was in close contact with the Metropolitan Police.
The Met has stepped up high-visibility patrols in the area, and thanked the emergency services and “heroic volunteers” for their response to the incident.
Khan added:
London’s Jewish community have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks.
There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society.
The latest incident comes after a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in north London.
In a post on social media the Jewish charity the Community Security Trust said:
There has been a knife attack today in Golders Green. The suspect has been arrested. We would like to thank @shomrimlondon, @Hatzola and @metpoliceuk for their swift response.
We are working closely with the police and urge anyone with information to contact the police, Shomrim and CST immediately.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said:
We are aware of a reported stabbing incident in Golders Green, with two injured. The police have apprehended a suspect. We are liaising with the CST, government and police to understand what has happened and ensure a forceful response.
Responding to news of the attack, Keir Starmer told MPs at prime minister’s questions:
It is deeply concerning to everyone in this house.
There is now a police investigation, and I think we all need to do everything we can to support that investigation and be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offences, the like of which we have seen too much recently.
Starmer: Golders Green attack is ‘utterly appalling’
Keir Starmer described the Golders Green stabbings as “utterly appalling” and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Posting on X, he said:
The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling.
Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain. Thank you to Shomrim, Hatzola and the police for acting swiftly.
Those responsible will be brought to justice.
Two stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, says Jewish group
A man has been arrested after two people were stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, the Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shomrim has said.
The man was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and “attempting to stab Jewish members of the public”, Shomrim said on social media.
He was detained by members of the group before police officers used a stun gun on him and arrested him, the group said.
Shomrim said the two people stabbed were being treated by Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer ambulance service.
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