Counterterrorism officers make 26th arrest in London Jewish-site attacks probe

Counterterrorism officers arrested a 37-year-old man near Barnstaple, Devon, on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, pushing the total number of arrests in the investigation into attacks on Jewish-linked sites in north west London to 26. Police took him to a London police station for questioning, a sign that the inquiry remains active and that investigators are still treating the case as a serious national-security threat.

The investigation began after the March 23 arson attack on four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance Service in Golders Green, an incident police treated as an antisemitic hate crime. Since then, the Metropolitan Police has linked the case to a broader series of attacks on Jewish-linked premises, including arson at a synagogue and the former offices of a Jewish charity. One incident involved a drone flown near the Israeli embassy, while other premises connected to people opposing the Iranian regime have also been targeted.

Police said most of the incidents were claimed online by Ashab al-Yamin, also known as the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right. The Metropolitan Police said the group has also claimed several incidents over recent months at places of worship, businesses and financial institutions across Europe. Counter Terrorism Policing has led the investigation throughout, and detectives set up an online portal for the public to submit video footage from the Golders Green attack.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said on April 19 that the attacks shared similar characteristics and that officers were examining whether criminal proxies hired by the Iranian regime may have been involved. That line of inquiry has put the probe squarely into the realm of foreign interference as well as domestic extremism. The case has already produced eight arson-related charges and one conviction for arson, underlining how far the inquiry has moved beyond initial arrests.

The political stakes widened further when Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “increasingly concerned” about foreign states using proxies to carry out attacks in Britain and promised new legislation. At a synagogue visit the same day, he said the fight to practice religion safely was “all of our fight.” Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said the attacks showed a sustained campaign of violence against the Jewish community was gathering momentum.

For London’s Jewish institutions, the latest arrest will offer only limited reassurance. The breadth of the targets, the spread of arrests from Watford to Harpenden, Stevenage and near Birmingham, and the possibility of coordinated proxy activity all point to a threat environment that is still being mapped rather than contained.