Nine people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to target the Jewish community, as counter-terror police investigate a suspected conspiracy to commit arson at an undisclosed venue linked to Judaism.
The latest detainees — a 19-year-old man and a 26-year-old man — were arrested in Watford on Tuesday and remained in custody on Wednesday evening, the Metropolitan Police said. They are suspected of being involved in planning an arson attack at a location believed to be connected to the Jewish community, though the specific target has not been identified.
Their arrests bring the total number of people held in this conspiracy probe to nine over the past three days. Seven others previously arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson have been released on bail pending further inquiries, subject to strict conditions.
The alleged conspiracy
According to the Metropolitan Police, the group is believed to have been planning an arson attack on a site connected to the Jewish community, although the intended venue remains unknown. The arrests form part of a fast-moving investigation led by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), working in close coordination with the Met.
The seven individuals who have been bailed include three men detained in Harpenden on April 19, aged 24, 26 and 26; a 25-year-old man arrested in Stevenage on April 20; and a 26-year-old man together with two women aged 50 and 59 who were stopped in a vehicle near Birmingham on Monday.
Law enforcement is also examining whether the recent wave of attacks on Jewish targets may be linked to Iranian proxies. The group calling itself Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia has claimed responsibility for some incidents, and the UK has previously accused Iran of using criminal proxies for operations on European soil. The investigation into that line of inquiry is ongoing.
Broader spate of attacks
The conspiracy probe sits within a wider pattern of arson and intimidation that has struck the British Jewish community since late March. In total, 23 people have been arrested across the entire series of attacks, the Met confirmed. Eight individuals have been charged with arson-related offences, and one conviction has already been secured.
The attacks have targeted a range of sites. On March 23, four Hatzola Jewish community ambulances were set on fire in Golders Green, north-west London. Four individuals — Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, a 17-year-old boy, and Judex Atshatshi, 18 — have been charged in connection with that incident.
On April 15, an attempted arson was carried out at Finchley Reform Synagogue in north London. Two bottles believed to contain petrol and a brick were thrown at the building, but neither bottle ignited and no damage was reported. A 47-year-old woman and a 46-year-old man were arrested in Watford in relation to that attack.
On the evening of Saturday April 18, Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow was targeted. CCTV footage shown to Westminster Magistrates’ Court depicted a 17-year-old boy climbing over the synagogue’s boundary wall, throwing something at a window to break it, then lighting an object and tossing it through the broken pane. The teenager pleaded guilty on Tuesday to arson not endangering life. A 19-year-old man also arrested in connection with that attack has been released on bail. Two other suspects remain outstanding, the court heard.
Further incidents include an arson attack on a former Jewish charity building, the flying of a drone near the Israeli embassy, and an attempted arson at the offices of Iran International, a Persian-language media company critical of the Iranian government, in north-west London at around 8.30pm on April 15.
One other arrest — that of a 39-year-old man detained in Ealing under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act — is linked to the discovery of jars containing a non-hazardous substance in Kensington Gardens on April 17.
Community impact and police reassurance
The repeated attacks have caused deep anxiety within Britain’s Jewish community. The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors antisemitism and provides security for Jewish sites, recorded 3,700 antisemitic incidents in 2025 — the second-highest annual total on record and a 4% increase on 2024.
The CST noted that levels of antisemitic incidents have remained elevated since October 2023, with the average monthly total in 2025 doubling the pre-October 2023 monthly average. The most serious single incident of 2025 was a terrorist attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester that left two people dead and three injured.
In response to the recent arson spree, Counter Terrorism Policing has increased its presence in north-west London, particularly outside Jewish places of worship and community sites, to identify potential attackers and provide reassurance. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national co-ordinator of CTP, said: “Our investigations continue at pace, and we are continuing to identify and arrest suspects who we believe were involved, or planning, the recent arson attacks in north-west London.
“We’ve now had the first conviction in relation to this recent spate of arson attacks and seven others have been charged. We remain determined to identify, arrest and charge all those who have been involved in the recent criminal activity. My message to anyone even considering getting involved in this type of activity is this, the stakes are high and it is absolutely not worth the risk.”
Prime Minister’s response
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has vowed an uncompromising response. “We won’t relent in our fight against antisemitism and terror,” he wrote on X. “Any perpetrators will feel the full force of the law.”
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has described the attacks as a “sustained campaign of violence and intimidation” against the Jewish community, which has voiced fears of being “under siege”.
