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Starmer says ‘antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling’ after two people stabbed – latest updates | UK news
Starmer: Golders Green attack is ‘utterly appalling’
Keir Starmer described the Golders Green stabbings as “utterly appalling” and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Posting on X, he said:
The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling.
Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain. Thank you to Shomrim, Hatzola and the police for acting swiftly.
Those responsible will be brought to justice.
Key events
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on the government to treat the rise of antisemitic attacks as a national emergency.
In a statement on social media, she said:
Jewish people in our country are under constant attack.
This is no longer a growing pattern. There is an epidemic of violence against Jewish people.
It is now a national emergency and needs to be treated as such by the Government and public authorities.
A pizza shop worker on Golders Green Road has said he helped an elderly stab victim after he saw him “bleeding” from his neck after he was attacked.
Tariq Aziz, who works at pizza takeaway shop Slice, told the Press Association: “He came to our shop and then I gave him a tissue and helped him, and then police came suddenly and arrest the guy.”
He said the suspect “wasn’t running away” after the attack and that when the police came, he pointed out the suspect as he was “just walking down there with a knife” and “the police arrested him.”
A large police cordon remains in place in Highfield Avenue, Golders Green, north London.
At least five police cars are at the scene and officers are speaking to residents as they leave the cordon.
Among them is Moishe Grunfeld, 52, who told the Press Association: “It happens in Israel, but happening on our own doorstep, of course it’s shocking.
“I have kids, I have grandchildren.”
Asked how he feels following a spate of antisemitic attacks in north London, Grunfeld said: “You push it away, you have to live on.”
The Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Sarah Sackman, said attacks “on British Jews are an attack on Britain itself”, after two men were stabbed in her constituency.
The courts minister said:
I have been made aware of a serious stabbing in Golders Green. The suspect has been detained. I want to thank the vital work of Shomrim, who apprehended the perpetrator; Hatzola, the police and CST (Community Security Trust).
The attacks on British Jews are an attack on Britain itself. It is unconscionable that Jews are being targeted in this way. I am meeting with the home secretary imminently to discuss the urgent situation.
The incident in Golders Green was raised in the Commons by Hornsey and Friern Barnet MP Catherine West.
She said:
The whole House will be very concerned to hear about the dreadful stabbings this morning in the borough of Barnet.
The Labour MP said she was “very worried about this repeated violence against the Jewish community”.
She added:
We condemn these alleged attacks and we wish the police, the council and all the community services the very best in solving this and bringing to justice those perpetrators of these violent crimes.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described the stabbings as “yet another appalling antisemitic attack”.
In a post on X, he said:
This is yet another appalling antisemitic attack. The Jewish community are not being properly protected from this hate.
We have seen Iran sponsoring antisemitic attacks and Islamist extremism run rampant. The Government must urgently step up tangible actions against antisemitism, Iran and Islamist extremism.
Specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing are leading the investigation and working with police to establish the full circumstances and any links to terrorism, the Met said in a statement.
Head of counter terrorism policing Laurence Taylor said:
Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened.
Thank you to those who were in the area at the time and supported the response to this terrible incident.
Detective chief superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in the area, added:
Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrific attack. We are grateful to officers who swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm.
We are aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause in the face of a number of incidents in the local area. A suspect is in custody, and investigators are considering all possible motives.
Officers will remain at the scene for some time to carry out further enquiries, speak to local people and offer reassurance.
Man, 45, arrested after double stabbing in Golders Green
A 45-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two men – one in his 70s and one in his 30s – were stabbed in Golders Green this morning, the Metropolitan Police said.
The force said in a statement:
An investigation is under way and a man has been arrested following a stabbing incident in Barnet.
At 11:16hrs on Wednesday 29 April, officers responded following reports of people stabbed in Highfield Avenue.
Local officers and armed officers attended, alongside the London Ambulance Service.
The suspect also attempted to stab police officers, and was Tasered before being arrested. No officers were injured.
Two men – one in his 70s and one in his 30s – were treated at the scene for stab wounds. They have been taken to hospital and both are in a stable condition.
Deputy prime minister David Lammy said the Golders Green attack is “horrific”.
“No one should live in fear because of who they are,” he said.
“We stand with the Jewish community and we must root out this hatred.”
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “My thoughts are with the victims of the abhorrent attack in Golders Green this morning, and the Jewish community.
“I’m grateful for the work of the community and the police in apprehending the suspect, and to the emergency services for their quick response.
“The suspect is now in custody and I’m being kept updated on the situation.”
Antisemitic hatred “is rising once again and we must defeat it,” Downing Street has said following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green.
“It’s a deeply shocking incident,” the prime minister’s spokesman told reporters.
“A live police investigation is under way so it would be inappropriate for me to go further than that.”
The official also said: “We know that many in the Jewish community face a daily threat of antisemitic hatred. And this is a hatred that is rising once again and we must defeat it.
“That’s why we’re backing the Jewish community with record levels of security funding and clear action to root out any antisemitism wherever it appears including in universities, charities and in the NHS.”
Here are some images from the scene in Golders Green this afternoon:
London mayor Sadiq Khan condemns ‘appalling’ attack
London mayor Sadiq Khan said the attack was “appalling” and that he was in close contact with the Metropolitan Police.
The Met has stepped up high-visibility patrols in the area, and thanked the emergency services and “heroic volunteers” for their response to the incident.
Khan added:
London’s Jewish community have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks.
There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society.
The latest incident comes after a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in north London.
In a post on social media the Jewish charity the Community Security Trust said:
There has been a knife attack today in Golders Green. The suspect has been arrested. We would like to thank @shomrimlondon, @Hatzola and @metpoliceuk for their swift response.
We are working closely with the police and urge anyone with information to contact the police, Shomrim and CST immediately.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said:
We are aware of a reported stabbing incident in Golders Green, with two injured. The police have apprehended a suspect. We are liaising with the CST, government and police to understand what has happened and ensure a forceful response.
Responding to news of the attack, Keir Starmer told MPs at prime minister’s questions:
It is deeply concerning to everyone in this house.
There is now a police investigation, and I think we all need to do everything we can to support that investigation and be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offences, the like of which we have seen too much recently.
Starmer: Golders Green attack is ‘utterly appalling’
Keir Starmer described the Golders Green stabbings as “utterly appalling” and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Posting on X, he said:
The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling.
Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain. Thank you to Shomrim, Hatzola and the police for acting swiftly.
Those responsible will be brought to justice.
Two stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, says Jewish group
A man has been arrested after two people were stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, the Jewish neighbourhood watch group Shomrim has said.
The man was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and “attempting to stab Jewish members of the public”, Shomrim said on social media.
He was detained by members of the group before police officers used a stun gun on him and arrested him, the group said.
Shomrim said the two people stabbed were being treated by Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer ambulance service.
Read the full story here:
Nancy Pexton stabbed her sister Jennifer Abbott Dauward and took her diamond-encrusted Rolex watch.
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UK News
King Charles visits New York after Trump says UK monarch ‘agrees with me’ on Iran – US politics live | Donald Trump
King Charles visits New York after Trump says UK monarch ‘agrees with me’ on Iran
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
Britain’s King Charles will use a trip to New York today to showcase cultural and economic ties between the UK and the US at a time when the so-called “special relationship” is under strain.
It is the third day of a four-day state visit, clouded by tensions over the Iran war, that began in Washington with president Donald Trump greeting the monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, AFP reported.
The New York leg will first see the royals take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 memorial to mark 25 years since the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. The city’s mayor Zohran Mamdani is not expected to meet Charles privately but will join him for the ceremony.
“This atrocity was a defining moment for America and your pain and shock were felt around the whole world,” Charles told the US Congress on Tuesday.
“We stood with you then. And we stand with you now in solemn remembrance of a day that shall never be forgotten,” he added in a speech that called for unity among western powers.
It comes as Trump said Charles agrees with him that Iran should never be allowed nuclear weapons. The president’s comments are likely to cause some embarrassment to royal aides that his views have been made public.
Trump said in his speech at the white-tie event on Tuesday evening:
We’re doing a little Middle East work right now … and we’re doing very well. We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we’re never going to let that opponent ever, Charles agrees with me even more than I do, we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.
They know that, and they’ve known it right now, very powerfully.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said:
The king is naturally mindful of his government’s longstanding and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.
In other developments:
-
Todd Blanche, the former defense lawyer for Donald Trump now serving as acting US attorney general, announced two charges against James Comey, the former FBI director and deputy attorney general for allegedly “knowing and willfully making a threat to kill” the president of the United States in a social media post.
-
Patrick Fitzgerald, a former US attorney for the northern district of Illinois who now represents James Comey, said that his client, “vigorously denies the charges” filed against him.
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US defense secretary Pete Hegseth will face tough questions from lawmakers about the Iran war on Wednesday during his first testimony to Congress since the start of the conflict.
-
President Trump will welcomes the Artemis II astronauts to the White House later today. The capsule returned to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, almost a month after blasting off on humanity’s first lunar trip in more than a half century.
-
The supreme court will hear arguments Wednesday over the Trump administration’s push to end legal protections for migrants fleeing war and natural disaster, one in a series of immigration cases the high court is considering against the backdrop of the president’s far-reaching immigration crackdown.
-
The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a key policy meeting, likely the last chaired by central bank chief Jerome Powell. Policymakers will weigh the risks of surging energy prices and snarled supply chains due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with analysts widely expecting a third pause in a row.
Key events
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked King Charles for his speech in Washington yesterday.
He said:
I thank His Majesty King Charles III, royal family, the United Kingdom, and all valiant American hearts for this clarion call for unity in support of Ukraine across the Atlantic.
This is exactly what is needed to bring dignified and lasting peace to Ukraine and all of Europe. The people of Ukraine deeply appreciate all the support provided by the United Kingdom and the United States. Thank-you.
US president Donald Trump has warned Iran that “they better get smart soon” and sign a non-nuclear deal, in his latest social media post.
Trump shared an image of himself, wearing sunglasses and carrying a gun, set against the backdrop of – presumably – Middle Eastern towns and villages being bombed, with the caption “No more Mr Nice Guy”.
He wrote:
Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon! President DJT
In his state dinner speech King Charles appeared to suggest to president Trump that the purpose of his state visit was to “put the ‘special’ back into our relationship” – just as Queen Elizabeth II did almost 70 years ago.
Charles spoke about the ties between Britain and the US, and implied it mirrored events in the aftermath of the 1956 Suez crisis, when Elizabeth toured the US to help repair relations.
Britain was left humiliated when the US refused to support its campaign with France to regain control of the Suez canal from Egypt, and the brief conflict marked the end of the UK’s role as a global military power.
Charles told the dinner guests, who included the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, and the golfer Rory McIlroy: “And yes, we have had our moments of difficulty, even in more recent history. When my mother visited in 1957, not the least of her tasks was to help put the ‘special’ back into our relationship after a crisis in the Middle East.”
Some of the guests laughed when the king said: “Nearly 70 years on, it is hard to imagine anything like that happening today…”
King Charles to visit New York to commemorate 9/11 victims
Britain’s King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla arrive in New York on Wednesday to commemorate victims of the 11 September terror attacks on the city.
The king and queen’s scheduled arrival in New York follows a packed day in Washington on Tuesday, when Charles delivered a speech to Congress, held private meetings with president Donald Trump amid tensions between the US and UK over the Iran war and sat down with leaders of the US tech industry, Reuters reported.
Charles and Camilla will begin their day in New York with a ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in lower Manhattan, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed by al-Qaeda suicide bombers on 11 September, 2001. Charles is expected to meet with New York City’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, at the ceremony.
The king will then head to Harlem to visit a grassroots community organization that created a sustainable after-school urban farming initiative in an effort to combat food insecurity, according to local media.
Meanwhile, Camilla will celebrate the 100th birthday of AA Milne’s fictional character Winnie the Pooh on behalf of her charity, The Queen’s Reading Room, which Buckingham Palace is calling a “literary engagement” event.
US supreme court to hear whether protected status of Haitians and Syrians can be revoked
José Olivares
The supreme court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday over whether the Trump administration can strip the temporary protected status (TPS) of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and Haitians, under a program that has protected them from deportation due to safety concerns in their home countries.
People with TPS are given the permission to live and work in the US because the government has deemed their home countries to be unsafe due to war, political instability or natural disasters. In the past year, the Trump administration has attempted to cut the program for various countries, opening the door to the removal of hundreds of thousands of protected immigrants in the US.
Last year, the supreme court allowed the administration to strip TPS status for more than 300,000 Venezuelans under the court’s emergency docket. Now, the court will hear arguments challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to remove the same protections from Syrians and Haitians.
If the supreme court sides with the Trump administration in its effort to cut the program for Syrians and Haitians, analysts say the administration would likely seek to end the TPS program for all countries. Nearly 1.3 million people were TPS holders at the start of the second Trump administration.
The TPS program, established in 1990, does not offer a pathway to citizenship but allows citizens from designated countries to live and work in the US if they are unable to return safely to their home countries. TPS designations can be extended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Haitians have been protected from deportation under the TPS program since 2010 and Syrians have been protected since 2012. Earlier this month, the House passed legislation to extend the protection for Haitian immigrants under the TPS program for three years.
David Smith
A flick of Oscar Wilde here, a nod to Henry Kissinger there, a sprinkling of Charles Dickens here, a dollop of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt there. Job done!
The British monarch mobilised an elite squad of dead white men, leavened with humour and subliminal politicking, on Tuesday in a charm offensive aimed over Donald Trump’s head and squarely at the US Congress. Judging by the cheers and minute-long applause he received at the end, the soft power flex worked a treat and the special relationship lives to fight another day.
But the king’s central message – of two great nations entwined in destiny – was also an inadvertent reminder of two empires that look increasingly shabby these days with rightwing populists on the march and the ghost of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein hovering in the shadows.
Charles became the first British king to address the Congress almost exactly 250 years after the US denounced his fifth great-grandfather as a tyrant and declared its independence. “You’ll be back,” predicted George III in Hamilton and yet cricket, damp and a lack of air conditioning never clinched the deal.
What would America’s founding fathers have made of seeing George III’s direct descendant speak to their successors? Donald Trump mused at the White House on Tuesday: “They might be absolutely shocked but probably only for a moment. Surely they would be delighted that the wounds of war healed into the most cherished friendship.”
Well, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and co would surely be more shocked to discover that they now have their own mad king in the White House. If Charles spots signs saying “No kings” on his travels, he shouldn’t take it personally.
King Charles visits New York after Trump says UK monarch ‘agrees with me’ on Iran
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
Britain’s King Charles will use a trip to New York today to showcase cultural and economic ties between the UK and the US at a time when the so-called “special relationship” is under strain.
It is the third day of a four-day state visit, clouded by tensions over the Iran war, that began in Washington with president Donald Trump greeting the monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, AFP reported.
The New York leg will first see the royals take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 memorial to mark 25 years since the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. The city’s mayor Zohran Mamdani is not expected to meet Charles privately but will join him for the ceremony.
“This atrocity was a defining moment for America and your pain and shock were felt around the whole world,” Charles told the US Congress on Tuesday.
“We stood with you then. And we stand with you now in solemn remembrance of a day that shall never be forgotten,” he added in a speech that called for unity among western powers.
It comes as Trump said Charles agrees with him that Iran should never be allowed nuclear weapons. The president’s comments are likely to cause some embarrassment to royal aides that his views have been made public.
Trump said in his speech at the white-tie event on Tuesday evening:
We’re doing a little Middle East work right now … and we’re doing very well. We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we’re never going to let that opponent ever, Charles agrees with me even more than I do, we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.
They know that, and they’ve known it right now, very powerfully.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said:
The king is naturally mindful of his government’s longstanding and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.
In other developments:
-
Todd Blanche, the former defense lawyer for Donald Trump now serving as acting US attorney general, announced two charges against James Comey, the former FBI director and deputy attorney general for allegedly “knowing and willfully making a threat to kill” the president of the United States in a social media post.
-
Patrick Fitzgerald, a former US attorney for the northern district of Illinois who now represents James Comey, said that his client, “vigorously denies the charges” filed against him.
-
US defense secretary Pete Hegseth will face tough questions from lawmakers about the Iran war on Wednesday during his first testimony to Congress since the start of the conflict.
-
President Trump will welcomes the Artemis II astronauts to the White House later today. The capsule returned to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, almost a month after blasting off on humanity’s first lunar trip in more than a half century.
-
The supreme court will hear arguments Wednesday over the Trump administration’s push to end legal protections for migrants fleeing war and natural disaster, one in a series of immigration cases the high court is considering against the backdrop of the president’s far-reaching immigration crackdown.
-
The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a key policy meeting, likely the last chaired by central bank chief Jerome Powell. Policymakers will weigh the risks of surging energy prices and snarled supply chains due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with analysts widely expecting a third pause in a row.
The explosion in Dunmurry on Saturday has heightened security fears for civilians who work for the PSNI, says union representative.
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