Policing 'stepped up' around synagogues in London

Sir Sadiq Khan said policing will be "stepped up" in and around Synagogues in London

Policing will be "stepped up" in and around synagogues in London, the mayor has said, after two people died and three others were injured in a car ramming and stabbing attack at a Manchester synagogue.

The incident on Thursday morning came on Yom Kippur - the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.

Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, said: "I've been in contact with the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, the home secretary and the police. The Met Police service will be stepping up high visibility policing in and around synagogues in London."

The Met said there is "nothing to suggest an increased threat to London" but additional officers would be deployed in Jewish communities.

Sir Keir Starmer said that "additional police assets" would be deployed at synagogues across the country, as he flew back to the UK to chair an emergency Cobra meeting.

He added: "We will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe."

The Community Security Trust, a charity which provides security at sites like synagogues and Jewish schools, said it was working with police "to ensure security at synagogues, and in the wider Jewish community, is as strong as it can be over the coming days and weeks".

The organisation urged people not to congregate outside communal premises and said synagogues should keep their doors closed at all times.

Sir Sadiq said: "At this time of year when Jewish people across the world are commemorating Yom Kippur it's incredibly worrying that we've seen this awful attack on a synagogue in Manchester.

"I want to reassure them that London will be seeing additional police officers. People should be allowed to go about and practice their faith knowing that they're going to be safe.

"Unfortunately too many Jewish Londoners, Jewish people across the country, Jewish people across the globe, don't feel that way. And that's heartbreaking."

The incident in Manchester happened at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Crumpsall area in the north of the city.

Police responded at 09:31 BST to reports of a car driving towards members of the public and a man being stabbed.

By 09:37, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had declared a major incident.

A Met Police spokesperson said while details of the incident in Greater Manchester this morning were still emerging, "it would understandably have significantly increased fear and concern in Jewish communities across the UK, including here in London".

They said the deployment would be in addition to officers already patrolling in areas with Jewish communities as part of existing policing plans for Jewish holy days.

Sir Keir has said he is appalled by the "horrific" attack, adding: "My thoughts are with the loved ones of all those affected, and my thanks go to the emergency services and all the first responders.

"The fact that this has taken place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, makes it all the more horrific."