Cliff Notes
- A knife and car attack at a synagogue in Greater Manchester left two people dead; police are treating it as a terror incident with three arrests made.
- The suspect, Jihad al Shamie, a British citizen, was shot dead by police at the scene.
- Sir Keir Starmer assured the Jewish community of increased security and condemned the rise of antisemitism, while Israeli officials criticised UK authorities for not adequately addressing the issue.
Manchester attack latest: Details emerge about synagogue terror suspect as victims named | UK News
Thanks for following our live coverage after two people were killed and others injured during a car and knife attack at a synagogue in Greater Manchester.
Police are treating the attack as a terror incident and said three arrests have been made, while the suspect – who was shot dead at the scene by police – has been named as 35-year-old Jihad al Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent.
Sir Keir Starmer, speaking after he chaired an emergency COBRA meeting this evening, promised to do everything in his power to guarantee British Jews “the security that you deserve” after the attack.
He said: “I promise you that this Britain will come together to wrap our arms around your community and show you that Britain is a place where you and your family are safe, secure and belong.”
PM promises security after Manchester attack
Several Jewish groups have said they expected a deadly antisemitic attack to take place in the UK due to “a tsunami of Jew hatred” in the country. One commented ‘there was bound to be some sort of reaction, even if it was an inside job, to help change the narrative’.
Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said he had spoken to the head of Manchester’s Jewish community.
He also apportioned some blame for the attack on the “authorities in Britain,” who he said had “failed to take the necessary action to curb this toxic wave of antisemitism and have effectively allowed it to persist”.