Britain on Thursday raised its national terror threat level to “severe” in the wake of the anti-Semitic stabbing attack in Golders Green, warning that another terrorist attack is now considered “very likely” in the next six months.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Center (JTAC) raised the UK national threat level from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’ a day after two people were stabbed in north London, in what police formally declared a terrorist incident.
Officials said the decision was not based solely on the Golders Green attack, but reflected a wider rise in far-right terrorism in Britain.
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood called Wednesday’s violence an “abhorrent, anti-Semitic attack” and said the increased threat level would be a concern for many, “especially among our Jewish community, which has suffered so much.”
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits the Hatzola Northwest Independent Ambulance Base after the terrorist incident, on April 30, 2026, in Golders Green, England. (James Smith/Sam Snap/Getty Images)
Police said officers were called to Highfield Avenue in the Barnet area around 11.16am on Wednesday after reports of multiple stabbings.
Two men, aged 76 and 34, were treated at the scene for stab wounds before being taken to hospital, where they remain and “are being cared for”, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said.
On Thursday, police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Essa Suleiman. Suleiman is a British citizen born in Somalia and had a “history of serious violence and mental health problems”, police said.
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Police arrest a protester at a rally organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, opposite Downing Street in central London on April 30, 2026, after the stabbing of two Jewish men the day before in the Golders Green area of north London. (Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images)
The Home Office said the rise in threat levels comes against the backdrop of rising terrorism in Britain
On Thursday, demonstrators gathered in Downing Street to express their concerns that not enough has been done to protect the Jewish community.
In response to the attack and a recent increase in anti-Semitic arsons in London, the government has announced an additional £25 million in funding to protect Jewish communities, bringing total support this year to £58 million. Officials said the money will be used to strengthen police patrols and protective security at synagogues, schools and community centers.
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The funding will also support an expansion of Project Servator, deploying specialist and plainclothes officers trained to detect suspicious behavior and identify people preparing to commit serious crimes.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the British government cannot credibly claim to be fighting anti-Semitism unless it also confronts what he described as “explicit incitement against the Jewish state.”
“Hate slogans and anti-Semitic marches on the streets of London are not ‘free speech’. They are sedition,” he wrote on X. “They incite terror against Jews.
They should be banned. The phrase “Globalize the Intifada” means killing Jews everywhere. It should be banned.”
“This is what the UK government must do immediately to combat anti-Semitism. Otherwise it is just empty words.”
Attorney General Lord Richard Hermer, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a meeting with representatives of criminal justice agencies at 10 Downing Street, Westminster, following a terror attack in Golders Green. (Dan Kitwood/PA Images via Getty Images)
Taylor said the attack has now been formally classified as terrorism and counter-terrorism officials are working with security forces to determine the full circumstances and develop a complete intelligence picture.
“While I must emphasize that this investigation is in its early stages, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened,” Taylor said.
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A police officer at the scene where two people were stabbed in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, and a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an anti-Semitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)
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Detective Chief Inspector Luke Williams said officers “quickly tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause any further damage”, adding that investigators are “considering all possible motives” and will maintain a visible police presence in the area.
Police at the scene where two people were stabbed in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, and a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an anti-Semitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)
Britain was last at the ‘severe’ threat level in November 2021, following the Liverpool Women’s Hospital bombing and the murder of lawmaker Sir David Amess, before it was downgraded to ‘substantial’ in February 2022.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, calling attacks on Jewish residents “an attack on Britain,” while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said there is “no place for anti-Semitism” in the city.
