Prosecutors in England and Wales have been instructed to fast-track hate crime cases, bringing charges even when key evidence has not yet been gathered, in a radical departure from standard criminal procedure. The directive, issued on Tuesday by the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, is designed to speed up justice amid what the prime minister has described as a “crisis for all of us” following a wave of antisemitic attacks.
Prosecutors to bring charges with less evidence
Under the new guidance, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyers are told to make charging decisions as soon as the basic evidential threshold is met, rather than waiting for a full file of evidence to be compiled — which is the normal practice for other offences. Parkinson said the change was necessary to combat a “deeply troubling rise in antisemitic incidents” and a “climate of fear” within the Jewish community.
In a statement, Parkinson explained: “The acts of extreme violence and criminal damage that we have seen against the Jewish community in recent months have been deplorable. People have been arrested and charged and those cases will be dealt with as quickly as possible. But it is also clear that there are daily threats or abuse which are designed to harass and distress Jewish people. These, too, are criminal offences and they are contributing to a climate of fear felt by the Jewish community.”
The most significant element of the fast-track approach is that prosecutors will be encouraged to recommend charges even “if some supporting evidence can be obtained later”. For certain public order offences, they will be permitted to proceed on the basis of a reliable victim’s account alone, without any supporting evidence. In assault cases, they may take into account photographs of injuries or medical notes at the charging stage. Additionally, to reduce the burden on policing, some pre-charge disclosure requirements have been waived.
The guidance applies to “any sort of hate crime”, according to Parkinson, though it has been introduced explicitly in response to antisemitic attacks. The move has drawn comparisons to the Single Justice Procedure used for minor offences, which has previously been criticised for leading to rushed decisions and potential miscarriages of justice.
Starmer convenes summit as threat level rises to ‘severe’
The fast-track directive was one of several measures announced after a summit convened by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at Downing Street on Tuesday. The summit brought together leaders from business, civil society, health, culture, higher education and policing. Starmer told attendees: “I am calling on you to act with urgency – to look clearly at where you are succeeding – and just as clearly at where there is still work to be done. And to commit to the tangible action that Jewish people in this country need to feel safe again. Because stopping antisemitism is not someone else’s responsibility: it is all of ours.”
The immediate catalyst for the summit was the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, on 29 April. The Metropolitan Police are treating the attack as terrorism. A 45-year-old British national born in Somalia, Essa Suleiman, has been charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article. It has emerged that Suleiman was referred to the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme in 2020, but the case was closed later that year. Following the attack, the UK’s terrorism threat level was raised to “severe”, indicating that an attack is considered highly likely.
Starmer said universities would now be expected to publish audits on the scale of antisemitism on their campuses. Arts Council England will be required to withdraw funding — and claw it back — from any organisation found to promote antisemitism. The government also pledged an additional £1 million for community safety work and projects to counter antisemitic narratives, with a further £500,000 allocated to Barnet Council following recent attacks.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, acknowledged: “Antisemitism continues at universities and in wider society, despite the diligent efforts of many, including in higher education … Tackling this growing societal evil will take all of us, working together, to make any difference.”
The wider context of antisemitic incidents includes arson attacks on Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, a firebombing of Kenton United Synagogue, and a fire at a memorial wall for Iranian protesters in Golders Green. Official statistics show that in the year ending March 2025, police in England and Wales recorded 137,550 hate crimes — a figure that has more than tripled since March 2013. Religious hate crimes increased by 3% in that period, following a 25% rise the previous year.
Prime minister warns Iran of ‘consequences’
At the summit, Starmer also issued a warning to Iran, saying the government would take further action if it emerged that the country was behind the recent spate of antisemitic attacks, including the Golders Green stabbings and the arson incidents. “We are investigating, of course, all the possibilities,” Starmer said. “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 foment violence, hatred or division in society is that it will not be tolerated.”
The government has promised to introduce a law making it easier to place sanctions on state-backed groups such as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), but has faced pressure to move more quickly. Ministers have previously cited legal complexities and diplomatic fallout as obstacles to proscribing the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, though sanctions have already been imposed on Iran and individual IRGC members.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, which attended the summit, welcomed it as an “important moment” but stressed that “more urgent action is necessary” and repeated its call for the IRGC to be proscribed. The Campaign Against Antisemitism, which was not invited, was more blunt. A spokesperson said: “We all know that Iran is a malign influence in this country, so why hasn’t the IRGC been proscribed and its ambassador expelled?”
