Counter terror police are investigating whether Iranian proxies are behind the arson attacks against London synagogues.
It comes after Ashab Al-Yamin – the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right – claimed responsibility for launching a ‘firebomb’ through the window of Kenton United Synagogue, near Harrow, last night.
The pro-Iran group released video footage of the attack showing a man walking up to the building with what appears to be petrol bomb and flinging it at the site.
It has claimed responsibility for several incidents at places of worship, business and financial institutions across Europe in recent months, the Met has said.
The force is now investigating the ‘Iranian regime’s routine uses of criminal proxies’ where Jewish sites have been targeted in the capital.
In a statement this afternoon, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said: ‘We are aware of public reporting that this group may have links to Iran.
‘As you would expect we will explore the question of motivation and direction as our investigations continue.
‘I have spoken at length of the Iranian regime’s routine uses of criminal proxies.
‘We are considering whether this tactic is being used here in London – recruiting violence as a service.’
She said individuals carrying out these crimes often have no allegiance to the cause and are ‘taking quick cash for their crimes’, adding that those involved will be prosecuted.
This includes for offences under the National Security Act, which comes with a significant sentence and lifetime restrictions.
Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes said the Met has ‘seen other cases of thugs for hire who commit criminal acts and intimation on behalf of others’, adding that the force is facing a ‘concerted campaign’ targeting British Jews in London.
Video footage of the latest arson attack last night shows the flashing blue lights of police cars blocking the road outside the synagogue, with fire crews also present.
A cordon was set up at the scene, on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the early hours of Sunday morning where police had been seen searching a black SUV nearby.
Forensics officers, fire investigation dogs and plain clothed police also attended.
Early reports had suggested the incendiary device had smashed a medical room window, causing internal damage to the building, which is close to a school and children’s playground.
However the attack caused only ‘minor smoke damage’, according to the Community Security Trust.
A spokesperson for the charity told the Daily Mail earlier today ‘there was minor smoke damage to an internal room but there were no injuries and no significant structural damage’ to the building.
A Met Police spokesperson previously said: ‘At around midnight on Sunday, 19 April officers on deterrence and reassurance patrols following a series of incidents in north west London noticed damage to a window of the Kenton United Synagogue in Shaftesbury Avenue, Harrow.
‘On further inspection they saw smoke inside a room and evidence that a bottle with some sort of accelerant had been thrown through the window.
‘The London Fire Brigade was called and firefighters searched the building to confirm that there was no further fire risk.
‘The incident is being treated as arson and an investigation is underway led by Counter Terrorism Policing London, supported by local officers.’
Sir Keir Starmer described the attack as ‘abhorrent’, saying: ‘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.’
Sir Sadiq Khan said ‘history shows that we will never back down against terrorists’, as he thanked the police, security services, Community Security Trust for ‘[keeping] our communities safe’.
The Mayor of London added: ‘London’s Jewish communities have been targeted with a series of shameful antisemitic arson attacks on charities, businesses and places of worship. I know that many of Jewish Londoners will be concerned about their safety.’
He said ‘an Iranian organisation has claimed responsibility for facilitating attacks and the counter-terrorism police are investigation’, adding that he remains in close contact with the Met Police which has increased its resources to protect and reassure Jewish communities.
Sir Khan said there can ‘never be any justification’ for the targeted attacks against Jewish communities, as those ‘responsible are seeking to promote fear, hatred and division’.
He added: ‘They can’t stand what our city represents – an open, diverse, pluralistic society that embraces and celebrates our differences.
‘History shows that we will never back down against terrorists. In London we will stand with out Jewish communities, unite against those who seek to divide us and ensure that those responsible face the full force of the law.’
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis described the incident as a ‘cowardly arson attack’, adding that ‘a sustained campaign of violence and intimidation’ against British Jews ‘is gathering momentum’.
He said: ‘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.’
He added that ‘we cannot, and must not, wait for that to change before we understand just how dangerous this moment is for all of our society’.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the incident marked a ‘terrifying spate of daily arson attacks on the Jewish community’, adding that ‘Britain is fundamentally a different country now’.
A spokesperson for the group said: ‘A synagogue in London was firebombed last night in what is now terrifyingly becoming a spate of daily arson attacks on the Jewish community.
‘It betrays a cataclysmic failure of the state – politicians, police chiefs and prosecutors – to tackle antisemitic extremism in this country, which has gone largely unchecked for two and a half years. Britain is fundamentally a different country now.
‘Still the Government refuses to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an obvious first step to address foreign radicalisation and interference.
‘It is shocking that concern for the sensitivities of a violent Iranian regime is more important to the Government than the welfare of Jewish people in this country.’
The synagogue has responded following the attack, saying British Jews refuse to be ‘intimidated’ by violence.
Saul Taylor, president of the United Synagogue, said: ‘We are yet again deeply saddened by the arson attacks that have taken place this weekend, including the attack on Kenton United Synagogue, one of our own communities.
‘A synagogue is not just a building, it is a place of worship, community and – theoretically – safety. To target it in this way is a deeply disturbing act that strikes at the heart of Jewish life.
‘Thank God no one was hurt and we are grateful to the emergency services and Community Security Trust for their swift response today.
‘The Government and local police forces have responded well to the recent appalling attacks including Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation and Hatzola ambulances, but it is clear that more must be done to prevent these attacks occurring at all.
‘The Prime Minister should declare publicly what the Jewish community has known for some time: this is an epidemic of anti-Jewish hate.’
He added: ‘The Kenton community and the wider United Synagogue will not be deterred…We will not be intimidated, and we will remain strong and united in the face of hatred.’
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, added that the Jewish community ‘will not be intimidated by these cowardly acts of hate, which are an attack on Britain and its values, and on the security and cohesion of everyone in our country’.
The Daily Mail has approached the London Fire Brigade for comment.
The Kenton attack comes after arsonists targeted a Jewish business in Hendon earlier this week.
The same Islamist group that launched drones at the Israeli Embassy on Friday has claimed responsibility for the attack, posting a video on what appears to be Telegram showing a person setting a bag alight and leaving it outside the building.
Police were called at 10.31pm on Friday to reports of the arson attack. The force said a man was seen approaching a row of shops with a plastic bag containing what was later found to be three bottles containing fluid.
The Met said: ‘He placed the bag next to the building and lit the items in the bag. The bottles failed to fully ignite and the man fled the scene.
‘Minor damage was caused to the shopfront and no injuries were reported.
‘The investigation into the incident is being led by Counter Terrorism Policing London, supported by officers from the North West Command Area. It is not being treated as a terrorist incident and officers are keeping an open mind about the motive behind the attack.’
No arrests have yet been made as of Saturday evening.
The Met said last night it has increased resources in northwest London ‘following a series of arson and attempted arson attacks’ in the area.
Uniformed and plain clothed officers will step up their presence, and armed response vehicles and Counter Terrorism Policing resources have also been deployed, the force said.
On Tuesday night another attempted arson attack saw two balaclava-clad suspects throw bottles thought to contain petrol at a north London synagogue.
The incident, which is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime, happened at Finchley Reform Synagogue in Fallow Court Avenue, North Finchley, overnight.
Two suspects approached the site shortly after midnight and threw two bottles, suspected to contain petrol, and a brick at the building.
It came weeks after four Hatzola ambulances were firebombed outside a different synagogue in nearby Golders Green on March 23.
The firebombing caused gas canisters in the ambulances, from Hatzola, a volunteer-led service, to explode.
Three men – Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and a 17-year-old boy, were charged with arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.
