The leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, says the people of Manchester are horrified and her thoughts are with those who have lost their lives today.

"We know this will leave a deep mark on our community here in Manchester as Jewish people were attacked on their holiest day as they went to worship", she says.

Tonight is a difficult moment of "sadness and reflection", she continues, "but I know that Manchester will come together in declaring that hate has no place in our city".

The press conference concludes.

Next to speak is Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham who starts by thanking the police, ambulance service, firefighters and volunteers for their help and bravery.

“This was an exemplary blue light response,” he says. The mayor says this was an “horrific antisemitic attack on our Jewish friends”.

“We always will stand together” he adds, saying that Manchester will “never let acts designed to cause hatred, division and violence” win.

“Do not let them succeed”, the mayor says, and ends by urging everyone to reach out to their neighbours and community “in these difficult times”.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says she is "horrified" by the antisemitic attack on the synagogue.

She says her prayers are with the victims as she thanks emergency services for their work.

Mahmood says she will "do whatever is required" to keep the Jewish community safe.

She adds questions will be answered as soon as possible but it will take a little time.

Image source, Reuters

A news briefing has just started with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

You can listen in by pressing Watch Live at the top of this page.

Police data suggests antisemitic attacks are risingpublished at 18:27 BST 2 October

18:27 BST 2 October

By Lucy Gilder

Home Office data suggests that religious hate crimes against Jewish people in England and Wales have doubled in the latest year, external.

Police recorded 3,282 of these offences in the year ending March 2024, up from 1,543 hate crimes recorded the year before. Offences against Jewish people made up a third of all religious hate crimes recorded by police.

Although there were more hate crimes targeting Muslims in the latest year, Jewish people were targeted at a higher rate.

There were 121 religious hate crimes per 10,000 people in the population targeted at Jewish people - the highest rate of all religious groups - and 10 per 10,000 targeted at Muslims.

The Home Office says that religious hate crimes against both Jewish people and Muslims has risen since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Image source, Reuters

In the hours since a car and knife attack at a synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, we've received a flurry of updates.

Here's what you need to know:

The victims

• Two members of the Jewish community have died, police say
• Four others are in hospital having suffered a variety of serious injuries

The attacker

• The attacker was shot dead by police - here's a timeline of how the attack unfolded
• Officials say they believe they know his identity - earlier they said they were unable to confirm it due to "safety reasons at the scene"

What we've learnt from officials

• The "immediate bravery" of security staff and worshippers helped prevent the attacker from entering the synagogue
• A device worn by the suspect was "not viable"
• Operation Plato, which is a response by emergency services to large-scale incidents, has been stood down
• A major incident status remains in place

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with senior police officers and members of the cabinet at Downing Street for an emergency meeting, afterwards he said Britain "must defeat" rising antisemitic hatred

Across the BBC

• An eyewitness told the BBC he saw bodies on the ground and a man with a knife "stabbing the window" of a nearby building "trying to get in"
• BBC Verify has confirmed this image of the suspected attacker was taken at the scene
• Our religion editor writes that an attack on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar feels to many like it is designed to maximise the hurt felt across Jewish communities

Starmer continues his statement by paying his condolences to the families of the victims of this morning's attack. He also thanks emergency responders for helping prevent "an even greater tragedy".

Directly addressing the Jewish community, Starmer says, "on behalf of our country I express our solidarity, but also my sadness you should still live with these fears".

He adds that he will do everything in his power to "guarantee you the security you deserve" and assures them they will soon see the "Britain of decency, of compassion and of love".

"We'll come together to wrap our arms around your community. We will show you Britain is a country where you and your family can be safe, secure and belong", he says as he ends his statement.

Image source, PA Media

We've just heard from UK PM Keir Starmer.

Speaking after an emergency Cobra committee meeting in Downing Street, he says that earlier today "a vile individual committed a terrorist attack".

He says the individual "attacked Jews because they are Jews and attacked Britain because of our values".

Britain is a country that has welcomed Jewish communities and has provided refuge and a home, he says.

But Britain is also a country were Jewish buildings require round-the-clock protection and specialist security is necessary "because of the daily threat of antisemitic hatred", Starmer says.

He says this is not a new hatred but one that is "rising once again" and Britain must "defeat it once again".

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) - which takes its decisions independently from the government - is currently assessing whether to raise the National Terrorism Threat Level, which is presently at Substantial - the middle one out of five levels.

Much will depend on what is known about the perpetrator once all his digital devices have been explored.

Whitehall officials will not yet confirm if he was on a known database but they are working on the assumption that his motives were jihadist in nature.

A key question is whether he was a lone operator, self-radicalised, or affiliated with a wider organisation like ISIS or al-Qaeda.

The speed of the armed police response - seven minutes - was not, as some media is reporting, due to it being an "intelligence-led" operation, which they said it was not.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have now confirmed that the device the suspect was wearing during the synagogue attack was "not viable".

Earlier, pictures showed the suspect wearing items round his waist.

GMP also confirms that Operation Plato has been stood down, but says "major incident status remains".

As we reported earlier, Operation Plato is a set of responses by the emergency services to large-scale incidents including "marauding terrorist attacks".

Chris Mason
Political editor

The emergency Cobra committee meeting has finished.

It lasted around an hour.

Steven Hirst says he had just left his home when emergency services descended on the area.

“I got pulled over by a police officer and he told me ‘get out of your car and get down the road’."

Claire Senechko, who has lived in the area for four years, says she found out about the attack through her mother.

“I was shocked, as I’m round the corner,” she says. “It’s scary knowing it’s on your front door.”

Image source, Getty Images

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will also be attending today's Cobra meeting - though she'll be dialling in from Greater Manchester.

Earlier, Mahmood - who attended Greater Manchester Police HQ - wrote on social media: "I am horrified by the news of an attack at a synagogue in Manchester today, on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar."

After arriving in Greater Manchester, the home secretary has spoken to Chief Constable Stephen Watson, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Jewish leaders - including Marc Levy of the Jewish Leadership Council.

Anna Jameson
Reporting from the scene

I’ve been speaking to a number of people at the scene.

One person told me today’s congregation would have been larger than at any other day in the year, with many people who don't otherwise regularly attend synagogue there for Yom Kippur.

Many say today’s attack was shocking but not surprising.

Others, including a Muslim businessman, Sham Raja, tell me there’s no room for hate of any kind in Manchester.

As we've just reported, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has arrived at Downing Street to chair a Cobra committee emergency meeting.

Starmer cut his trip to Copenhagen short, where he was attending a leaders summit, due to the synagogue attack.

We're now seeing images of the Met Police Chief Mark Rowley and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy also arriving at Downing Street.

We'll bring you the key news lines that come out of the meeting as we get them.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson has just wrapped up his statement.

Here are the key lines:

• Two members of the Jewish community have died, while a further four remain in hospital having suffered a "variety of serious injuries"
• The offender was shot and killed by police within seven minutes of a call being made to emergency services
• Watson thanked worshippers and security staff for their "immediate bravery" in preventing the attacker from entering the Manchester synagogue
• Inquiries are moving quickly, and he confirms the the attacker was wearing a vest "which had the appearance of an explosive device"

As a reminder, we also heard from the counter-terrorism police chief a short while ago - you can find a recap of what he said in our previous post.

Image source, PA Media

Meanwhile, a few moments ago, we saw Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrive in Downing Street to chair a meeting of the emergency Cobra committee.

The prime minister was at a leaders summit in Copenhagen but cut the trip short in response to the incident.

Watson rounds off his news conference by asking for patience, but stresses that the "highly visible" response to the incident will be sustained as investigations continue.

He asks people to refrain from sharing content online and says they should instead send it to the police.

With that, Watson leaves the podium. We'll bring you a recap of the key lines shortly, stay with us.

Speaking in more detail on the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, Watson says: "At this time we know that a car was driven directly at members of the public."

Watson shares his gratitude with members of the public who called the police "as soon as they saw what was happening".

This allowed the "quick response from our officers," Watson adds, saying the officers were able to act "swiftly and bravely".

Image source, PA Media

Chief Constable Watson says inquiries are moving "at pace" both across Greater Manchester and beyond, and that updates will be giving as soon as they can.

Their priority, right now, is to "keep the public safe".

Speaking on the attacker, Watson says he was wearing a vest "which had the appearance of an explosive device".