Two teenagers arrested over arson attack on synagogue in north-west London

Two teenagers have been arrested over an arson attack at a synagogue in north-west London over the weekend, the Met police have said.

Matt Jukes, the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said a 17-year-old boy and 19-year-old man had been detained, as he confirmed officers were investigating claims a series of antisemitic attacks in the UK were linked to Iranian-backed proxies.

“We’ve made, over the last weeks, 15 arrests in relation to a series of six incidents that have targeted Jewish premises, the Jewish-led ambulance service and a Persian media organisation,” Jukes told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday.

He said claimed links to Iran were a “very serious line of inquiry”. “We’ve seen a pattern … people taking cash as it looks like quick and easy money. Teams I led have put in prison individuals like Dylan Earl, who is serving a 17-year prison sentence for acting on behalf of the Wagner Group; in that case, Russian connected. But this is part of the modern hybrid war fought by proxies.”

Vicki Evans, the deputy assistant commissioner, has previously said most of the recent incidents have been claimed online by the group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia. It had recently claimed responsibility for attacks across Europe, including at Jewish and Israeli premises, Evans said. “This is recruiting violence as a service, and the people who conduct that violence often have little or no allegiance to the cause and are taking quick cash for their crimes.”

The latest attack came at Kenton united synagogue in Harrow. A “bottle with some sort of accelerant had been thrown through the window” at midnight on Sunday and smoke was seen inside a room, a Metropolitan police spokesperson previously said.

According to the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism and provides protection for Jewish communities in the UK, the incident caused minor smoke damage to an internal room but no injuries or significant structural damage. The building is close to a school and children’s playground.

Police were seen searching a black SUV nearby on Sunday morning. A large cordon was in place and a forensics officer, fire investigation dogs and several plainclothes officers were working at the scene. One marked and about five unmarked police cars were outside the synagogue.

Ephraim Mirvis, the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, has said Jews in the UK were facing a “sustained campaign of violence and intimidation” that was “gathering momentum”.