Police probe Islamist group's claim to be behind suspected antisemitic arson attack on ambulances

Police are investigating a claim by an Iran-aligned group to be responsible for an arson attack on a Jewish ambulance service in north London.

Four ambulances were destroyed in the blaze following a "loud explosion" that erupted at 1.40am on Monday at the base for volunteer group Hatzola in Golders Green.

Metropolitan Police said CCTV footage showed three hooded individuals pouring accelerant on the parked vehicles, with investigators analysing hours of footage to identify the suspects.

Islamist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) have claimed responsibility online for the attack, which is so far being treated as an antisemitic hate crime rather than a terror attack.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the incident as a "deeply shocking, antisemitic attack", amid criticism from Jewish leaders and the Conservative Party that the government needed to do more to combat anti-Jewish hate.

"Antisemitism has no place in our society, and it's really important we all stand together at a moment like this," he said.

On Monday night, about 250 protesters - including many waving Israeli flags and signs saying, "no Jew hate" - gathered in Golders Green, with some chanting "Keir Starmer, Jew harmer".

HAYI, which is a newly formed group believed to be aligned with Iran, appears to have posted a video on Telegram showing a map of the location of the attack and the ambulances on fire.

Metropolitan Police said detectives were aware of the claim of responsibility and were making enquiries to determine its authenticity.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said though it was "too early" to attribute the attack to Iran, the "rapid growth in recent years of Iranian state threats is grave".

"Britain's Jewish community has in recent years been increasingly targeted by individuals, groups and hostile states, intent on spreading fear, hate and harm," he said.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter terrorism policing in London, said investigators had already gathered a large amount of CCTV footage from the local area, with an online portal being launched for witnesses to provide more.

"We're aware this attack has caused a great amount of concern amongst the Jewish and wider community in the area, but I want to reassure the public that we have officers working around the clock to identify those responsible," she said.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the attack was more than "an attack on four ambulances" and one community and signified an "attack on this country and on us all".

"Jewish life in this country is indivisible from our national life," she told the Commons.

"Freedom of Jewish worship is an embodiment of who we are - as is the freedom of British Jews to go about their lives in safety and without fear."

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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said there had been an "increase in the hatred of Jews" and Jewish people wanted to see actions "not just words".

"We need to root out this hatred from its source. It's coming from many places, a lot of misinformation, and even in some extreme cases, extreme Islamist groups," she said.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the government needed to do a "lot more to fight antisemitism", including removing "any foreign national who expresses extremist views, sympathy for violence or terrorism, or antisemitism or any other religious hatred".

Israel's president expressed the country's "strength and solidarity" with Britain's Jewish community after the Golders Green attack.

"We will continue to stand together shoulder-to-shoulder with you in the critical fight against antisemitism," he said.

The UK's chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said the "horrific" attack was an "act of deep evil", adding that there had been an increase in antisemitic incidents across the world.

"It's an outright miracle that nobody was injured," he said.

Witnesses reported hearing a "very loud explosion", with some nearby residents evacuating their homes, while firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control.

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