The suspect being questioned by police over the Golders Green terror attack has been named as Essa Suleiman, according to reports, as Sir Keir Starmer urged the public to “open their eyes to Jewish pain” and vowed to “stamp this hatred out”.
Police tasered and arrested a 45-year-old man after the double stabbing in north London on Wednesday which saw two Jewish men – Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, 76, named locally as Moshe Shine – taken to hospital.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that Jews in the UK were “scared”, and that on Wednesday “this anxiety that is always there went to another place, to terror”.
Addressing the nation from Downing Street, he said: “This Government will do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out, we will strengthen our security and protect our Jewish community.
“But I also call on everyone decent in this country to open their eyes to Jewish pain, Jewish suffering and Jewish fear.”
Sir Keir, who is facing calls to ban pro-Palestine marches, backed the prosecution of people at such events chanting “globalise the intifada”.
He said: “If you are marching with people wearing pictures of paragliders without calling it out, you are venerating the murder of Jews.
“If you stand alongside people who say, ‘globalise theiIntifada’, you are calling for terrorism against Jews, and people who use that phrase should be prosecuted.
“It is racism, extreme racism, and it has left a minority community in this country scared, intimidated, wondering if they belong.”
The Prime Minister, who was earlier heckled as he visited the scene of the stabbing, declined to apologise to UK Jews following a string of attacks on the community.
Evading a question on whether he should say sorry after one of the Golders Green victims said he felt let down by the Government, he said: “I absolutely understand the high levels of anxiety and concern that there are, reflected in the various reactions over the last days.”
The suspect was a British national, was born in Somalia and came to the UK legally as a child in the 1990s, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said on Thursday.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley previously said the suspect had a “history of serious violence and mental health issues”.
The force later confirmed the suspect was reported to Prevent – the Government’s anti-extremism programme – in 2020 but the case was closed the same year.
Sir Keir said the Government needed to be “open to learning any further lessons that may come out of this investigation” on Prevent, noting changes were made after the 2024 mass stabbing in Southport.
Yesterday’s terror attack wasn’t an isolated incident, it was the latest attack on the Jewish community for being Jewish.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) April 30, 2026
Today I spoke with volunteers, first responders from Shomrim and Hatzola to thank them for their bravery.
I know that this is a deeply worrying time for the… pic.twitter.com/9SU6YvbF58
It comes as the UK terrorism threat level is expected to be raised to “severe” in the wake of the stabbings, meaning a terror attack is “highly likely”.
It is understood the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre is due to announce the decision soon.
The last time the level was raised to severe was in November 2021 after two attacks in the space of a month, with a bombing outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Remembrance Sunday and the murder of Conservative MP for Southend West Sir David Amess in October.
In February 2022 the body, which is based in MI5 but makes independent assessments, downgraded the threat to “substantial”, meaning an attack was “likely”, where it has remained since.
Sir Keir, in his speech, pointed to Government action including his demand for a “swift, agile and visible” criminal justice response, enhanced funding for security at Jewish sites and plans to fast-track powers to deal with malign state actors.
He has been urged to go further, with Tory former prime minister Baroness Theresa May adding to the pressure by saying she agreed with Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis’s warning that “words of condemnation are no longer sufficient”.
“We must now see better policing of marches which have created a dangerous atmosphere of intimidation and violence,” Lady May said.
