A former synagogue in London has been hit by a suspected arson attack – as counter-terrorism police launched an investigation amid a series of similar incidents.
Officers were called today at 5.16am by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a blaze at a former synagogue in Nelson Street in Tower Hamlets, east London.
Officers found minor damage to a set of gates and a lock at the front of the building, while there were no reports of any people injured.
Initial CCTV enquiries indicate the fire was started intentionally at about 5.10am and the incident is being treated as arson. There have been no arrests.
It follows a series of attacks on Jewish community sites and the recent Golders Green stabbings, and as Sir Keir Starmer today hosts a summit on anti-Semitism.
Det Chief Supt Brittany Clarke, who leads policing in the area, said: ‘We are taking this incident extremely seriously and we will be working closely with colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing to support the investigation.
‘The building targeted has not been operational as a synagogue for some years but that will be of little comfort to the Jewish community in Tower Hamlets, Hackney and beyond, who are first in my thoughts this morning.
‘Local residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while enquiries into this incident continue.’
Forensic investigators have been carrying out probes at a former synagogue on Nelson Street in Whitechapel, east London
Officers were called today at 5.16am by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a blaze at a former synagogue in Nelson Street in Tower Hamlets, east London
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London which is leading the investigation, said: ‘This incident follows on from a number of arsons and attempted arsons targeting Jewish Londoners in the north west of the city and we will be considering any potential links as their investigation gets underway.
‘Detectives are already working quickly to gather evidence and identify those responsible and I would urge anyone with CCTV or information that could assist detectives to contact police.
‘Counter-terrorism officers continue to work closely with our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police in response to the various incidents.
‘We’re providing protective security advice and support to various organisations, community venues and businesses.
‘With the threat level now raised to severe, everyone can play their part to keep themselves and their communities safe. If you see or hear anything that doesn’t look or feel right, then please report it to us. Your information could help us save lives.’
Anyone with information about this morning’s arson is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference CAD 1000/5MAY.
The synagogue, founded in 1923, closed in 2020 and was put up for sale this year.
A local Muslim group, the Ashaadibi Education & Cultural Centre community in Whitechapel, put down a £235,000 deposit and launched an appeal to buy the £2million site, with plans for a mosque, community and education centre.
Since the recent arson attack in Golders Green in north London, the Met Police says it has launched the most intensive set of community operations the force has ever run.
There have been a series of arson attacks at Jewish sites in London, as well as the double stabbing in Golders Green that is being treated as an act of terrorism.
Most of the attacks have been claimed by a group called Hayi that is suspected to be backed by Iran in a bid to sow division in Britain.
Read More
Ban the marches now! Starmer faces rising demands to stop anti-Israel hate
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is hosting a meeting of senior public figures on Tuesday to drive forward the UK’s response to anti-Semitism.
The PM warned Iran that efforts to stir up violence and hatred in the UK would ‘not be tolerated’ amid suspicions Tehran could be backing antisemitic attacks.
Sir Keir told leaders of community groups, senior Government ministers and police chiefs that there would be ‘consequences’ if Iran was found to be behind some of the incidents.
Describing the situation as a ‘crisis’ in the wake of the Golders Green attack, Sir Keir said new legislation would be rushed through to tackle ‘malign threats’.
Last week’s stabbing in Golders Green was the latest in a series of attacks on Britain’s Jewish community which have contributed to concerns that anti-Semitism is on the rise.
Speaking in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: ‘One of the lines of inquiry is whether a foreign state has been behind some of these incidents.
‘We are investigating, of course, all the possibilities. And we are clear that these actions will have consequences if that proves to be the case.
‘Our message to Iran or to any other country that might seek to promote violence, hatred or division in society is that it will not be tolerated.
‘That is why we are fast-tracking legislation to tackle these malign threats.’
The Government has promised a new law to allow it to take action against state-backed groups amid calls for the proscription of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
At a roundtable of senior figures from the police, representatives from the arts, higher education, trade unions and businesses, Sir Keir also promised new action to implement a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to anti-Semitism on university campuses and action in the arts.
Universities will now be expected to ‘demonstrate action’ to tackle anti-Semitism among students, the Prime Minister said.
He added: ‘We will now expect them to publish the scale of the problem on their campuses, as well as the specific steps they have taken to clamp down on it. There will be zero tolerance for inaction.’
The Arts Council will, meanwhile, be expected to withdraw funding and claw it back from anyone who is found to promote antisemitism, Sir Keir added.
He also announced the Government had ordered an independent audit of how allegations of antisemitism are handled.
He said: “This will be a hard-edge review of where systems are failing. We will not, and cannot, accept complacency, delays or weak enforcement, and where inconsistency is found, it will be challenged and addressed swiftly.’
Ahead of the meeting, the Government announced Jewish communities across England would receive an extra £1million of Government funding.
The money is expected to pay for community safety work and projects aimed at countering anti-Semitic narratives.
Universities will now be expected to publish details of antisemitic attacks on campuses, with ‘zero tolerance’ for inaction, the Prime Minister has said.
Sir Keir called on universities to ‘demonstrate action’ when abuses take place, as he set out plans to ‘strengthen our ability to disrupt extremism’.
The Prime Minister said Jewish people must be able to live without fear and a ‘sustained nationwide effort was needed’ to tackle anti-Semitism, including in schools.
Speaking in Downing Street, Sir Keir said: ‘We already expect universities to set out clear disciplinary consequences for antisemitism and to enforce them, and so we will hold them to account on that.
‘Today I can announce that we will lift the bar higher. When abuses take place, we’re calling on universities to demonstrate action.
‘We will now expect them to publish the scale of the problem on their campuses, as well as the specific steps they have taken to clamp down on it. There will be zero tolerance for inaction.’
The Government has already committed £7million to tackle anti-Semitism in schools, colleges and universities, and Sir Keir said they want to make sure that Holocaust education is taught in all schools.
Louis Danker, president of the Union of Jewish Students, told the event that ‘Britain has an anti-Semitism crisis’ and ‘many young Jews now despair for our future’.
The University of Edinburgh graduate said: ‘I was lucky to have supportive non-Jewish friends at university.
‘I say lucky because the Union of Jewish Students’ recent report found that one in five students are reluctant or unwilling to share a house with a Jew.
‘Old fashioned prejudice is becoming entrenched in the next generation.’
Earlier this year the Government launched an independent review into anti-Semitism in schools and colleges in England, with pupils, parents and teachers asked for their views.
The Community Security Trust recorded 204 school-related anti-Semitic incidents in 2025 – double the levels seen before 2023.
Following today’s Downing Street event, the Board of Deputies of British Jews described the roundtable as an ‘important moment to demonstrate a change in approach’, but said that ‘more urgent action is necessary’.
The group presented the Government with a set of next steps they say are needed to recognise and challenge modern anti-Semitism in Britain.
These include adequately resourcing police and security forces, proscribing the IRGC and ending ‘incitement at pro-Palestine protests’, including banned marches when necessary.
The board also called for the criminal justice system to be accelerated, with the arrest and prosecution of people responsible for inciting hatred against Jews to be fast-tracked.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: ‘Days after we stood outside Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to present a plan to tackle antisemitism, this is a start.
‘We note that he has adopted some of our language and his acknowledgment that antisemitism comes not just from the far-right but also from the far-left and Islamism.
‘But most of what is being announced is merely a programme of telling the authorities to do the jobs they were supposed to have been doing for years.
‘The police have had the powers to ban marches all along, and it should not have taken a spate of stabbings and arson attacks for the Charity Commission to act against extremist mosques or for the Arts Council to stop funding venues that spread hate.
CAS called for immediate bans on organisations including the IRGC, adding: ‘It is absurd that basic steps have still not been announced today.’
