2 hours ago
3
Image source, Getty Images
The unit will initially focus on antisemitic threats, but could serve as a model for protecting other communities facing spikes in hate crime
Police forces across England are to get a £251m funding boost to help protect Jewish communities following a rise in antisemitic attacks, the government has announced.
The Metropolitan Police will receive £86m to recruit about 300 extra officers to help increase police presence in Jewish neighbourhoods, and around synagogues, schools and community centres.
It comes after a series of antisemitic attacks in London, including the stabbing of two men in Golders Green in April, and the raising of the national terror threat level from substantial to severe.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the fund would deliver a "step change in protection" for Jewish communities.
Met deputy commissioner Matt Jukes said the investment would allow the force to bolster its existing Community Protection Teams and establish further teams across three sites in London, as well as recruiting up to 300 officers and creating a Golders Green community hub.
Image source, PA Media
Four Jewish charity ambulances were set alight in Golders Green in March
Greater Manchester Police is set to receive £22m to sustain the increase in policing presence following the attack in Heaton Park last year in which two Jewish men, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were killed.
The money will also be distributed to seven other police force areas with significant Jewish populations, which will share about £43m between them. They are Hertfordshire, Essex, Sussex, Thames Valley, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Northumbria.
A further £41m will go towards national policing coordination, including antisemitism training for all officers in England and Wales, and £59m to counter-terrorism police.
Image source, PA Media
Police presence was stepped up in Barnet following an attack in Golders Green
Sir Keir said the funding would deliver "a step change in protection and policing so Jewish communities can live and celebrate their faith free from fear", while Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said the government was "going further and providing record funding to help keep Jewish people in London safe".
Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, said the increased policing and government support came "not a moment too soon".
The package is in addition to the £25m emergency fund announced in April after the Golders Green attack. The fund was described by the Met at the time as "one-off funding" which had retrospectively covered the cost of surging officers into north-west London.
The government also confirmed £32.4m for protective security at Jewish sites in 2026-27, including synagogues, schools and community centres. This figure appears to combine the £28.4m announced for the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant in February with a further £4m allocated in May.
Several other measures cited alongside the policing package had also been previously announced, including £7m to tackle antisemitism in schools and universities, and the expansion of community cohesion programmes.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external
