PM pledges extra £10m to protect British Muslims

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited the Peacehaven mosque that was targeted in a suspected arson attack

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged an additional £10m in security funding to protect Muslim communities from hate crimes and attacks.

It follows his visit to a Peacehaven mosque that was targeted in a suspected arson attack earlier this month.

During Sir Keir's visit on Thursday, he said the funding would provide Muslim communities with protection, "allowing them to live in peace and safety".

He added that Britain was a "proud and tolerant country" and "attacks on any community are attacks on our entire nation and our values".

No one was injured in the fire which damaged the front entrance of the Peacehaven mosque and a car on 4 October, while Sussex Police said officers were treating the incident as a hate crime.

Three men were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life

The newly announcement funding for mosques and Muslim faith centres will provide security measures including CCTV, alarm systems, secure fencing and security staff, the government said.

During the visit, relatives of a member of the mosque who fled from inside when the door was torched told the prime minister that he had "become withdrawn after the incident".

"He's very traumatised," a family member said, as the mosque was "his life".

"We shouldn't need to have security in places of worship, and it's sad that we do," the prime minister told members of the community.

Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood visited the Peacehaven mosque on Thursday

According to the government, the most recent hate crime statistics show that anti-Muslim hate crimes increased by 19% in the year ending March 2025, while 44% of all religious hate crimes targeted Muslims.

East Sussex County Council said that the number of flags being hung in areas including Seaford, Newhaven and Peacehaven was "unsettling" and "intimidating" in view of the mosque attack.

When the BBC asked the prime minister on his views, he said it was "important we don't surrender our flag to everyone".

"I think it's very clear when some people, just like the people who attacked this mosque, only want to use the flag to divide," he added.

"It undermines the values of the flag."

The chief executive of the British Muslim Trust, Akeela Ahmed, welcomed the funding, stating that everyone "deserves to live their life peacefully" and "without the threat of fear".

Three men were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life in connection with the fire.