UPDATE: April 4, 2026:
A further arrest has been made in connection with a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulances run by the Jewish community in Golders Green.
On the morning of Saturday, 4 April, Met officers at Westminster Magistrates’ Court arrested a 19-year-old man [F] in relation to the ongoing investigation into an arson attack in Golders Green.
While attending the hearing of three other suspects, officers recognised the man as being involved in the arson attack. He was arrested for arson with intent to endanger life and taken into custody.
Three other people have been charged in connection with the incident:
[C] Hamza Iqbal 20 (28.10.05) and [D] Rehan Khan 19 (11.02.07), both British nationals from Leyton, and [E] a 17-year-old boy, a dual British and Pakistani national from Walthamstow, were charged on Friday, 3 April with arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered contrary to Section 1(2) – Criminal Damage Act 1971.
They appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, 4 April where they were remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Friday, 24 April.
They were arrested on Wednesday, 1 April at different locations in east London and officers from Counter Terrorism Policing London have carried out searches at these addresses.
The arrests and charges are linked to the ongoing investigation into an arson attack at approximately 01:35hrs on Monday, 23 March. Four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London, were set on fire during the incident.
Two other men [A and B] were also previously arrested on Wednesday, 25 March, and they have both been released on bail to a date in late-April, pending further enquiries.
The original announcement can be found here.
UPDATE: April 3, 2026:
Three people arrested in connection with a Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) investigation into an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulances run by the Jewish community in Golders Green, have been charged.
[C] Hamza Iqbal 20 (28.10.05) and [D] Rehan Khan 19 (11.02.07), both British nationals from Leyton, and [E] a 17-year-old boy, a dual British and Pakistani national from Walthamstow, have been charged, following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service, with arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered contrary to Section 1(2) – Criminal Damage Act 1971
They were all arrested on Wednesday, 1 April at different locations in east London and officers from Counter Terrorism Policing London have carried out searches at these addresses.
The arrests and charges are linked to the ongoing investigation into an arson attack at approximately 01:35hrs on Monday, 23 March. Four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London, were set on fire during the incident.
Iqbal, Khan and the 17-year-old are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, 4 April.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation said: “Since this appalling attack last week, we have been working continuously to investigate and identify those responsible. The investigation has now reached a stage where three people have been charged and they will now appear in court.
“I want to reiterate that the support we had from the local community since this attack took place has been incredible, and we will continue to work closely with local policing colleagues to do everything we can to keep the public safe.”
At this stage, the incident has not been declared as terrorism, but due to the circumstances of the incident, along with the specialist capability within CTP, the investigation is being led by detectives from CTP London.
Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in North West London said: “We know that local community concerns continue to remain high – particularly for our Jewish communities in the Passover festival period. Since the arson attack, we have put in place an enhanced, bespoke policing plan, which has been focused around vulnerable areas not only in Golders Green, but right across London. This has involved a significant number of additional officers on the ground, with the aim of protecting communities, disrupting offenders, and detecting crime. This activity is ongoing and will continue over the coming days and includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers. It is also being supported by highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm.
“As I’ve said before, these are precautionary measures and not in response to any specific threat, and we continue to work alongside our colleagues in Counter Terrorism Policing to support their investigation. We will also continue to work closely with local communities and our partners to listen to their concerns and respond to these.”
Two men [A and B] were previously arrested on Wednesday, 25 March, and they have both been released on bail to a date in late-April, pending further enquiries.
The original announcement can be found here.
UPDATE: April 1, 2026:
Three more people have been arrested in connection with a Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) investigation into an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulances run by the Jewish community in Golders Green.
The three people – a 20-year-old man, a 19 year-old man and a 17-year-old boy – were all arrested early on Wednesday, 1 April at three separate addresses in East London. Officers are also carrying out searches at those locations.
The two men arrested are British nationals and the third teenager is a dual British and Pakistani national. All three were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life and have been taken to a London police station where they remain in police custody.
The arrests are linked to the ongoing investigation into an arson attack at approximately 01:35hrs on Monday, 23 March. Four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London, were set on fire during the incident.
The two men were previously arrested on Wednesday 25 March, and they have both been released on bail to a date in late-April, pending further enquiries.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation said: “Since this appalling attack last week, we have been working continuously to investigate and identify those responsible. We know concern among the Jewish community remains high, but I hope these arrests show that we are doing everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.
“As I’ve said previously, the support we had from the local community since this attack took place has been incredible, and we will continue to work closely with local policing colleagues to do everything we can to keep the public safe.”
At this stage, the incident has not been declared as terrorism, but due to the circumstances of the incident, along with the specialist capability within CTP, the investigation is being led by detectives from CTP London.
Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in North West London said: “We know local community concern continues to remain high – particularly for our Jewish communities as they now enter the Passover festival period. Since the arson attack, we have put in place an enhanced, bespoke policing plan, which has been focused around vulnerable areas not only in Golders Green, but right across London. This has involved a significant number of officers on the ground, with the aim of protecting communities, disrupting offenders, and detecting crime. This activity is ongoing and will continue over the coming days and weeks and includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers. It is also being supported by highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm.
“As I’ve said before, these are precautionary measures and not in response to any specific threat, and we continue to work alongside our colleagues in Counter Terrorism Policing to support their investigation. We will also continue to work closely with local communities and our partners to listen to their concerns and respond to these.”
The original announcement can be found here.
UPDATE: March 26, 2026:
Two men arrested as part of an investigation into an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulances run by the Jewish community in Golders Green have been released on bail.
The men, aged 47 and 45 and both British nationals, were arrested on the morning of Wednesday, 25 March at addresses in north west London and central London areas respectively.
They were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and both were taken to a London police station before being released on bail to a date in April 2026 while the investigation continues. Searches were carried out at both the addresses in north west and central London. Further searches have also been carried out at two other addresses in north west London on Wednesday 25 March.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation said: “Although the two men have been released from police custody, there are strict bail conditions in place while we continue to investigate their suspected involvement in this incident. I can reassure the public that we will be closely monitoring these while we carry out further enquiries.
“We continue to work to try and identify all of those involved in this appalling attack and the investigation team is working around the clock to do this.
“I’d like to thank the public and particularly the local Jewish community in the area for their continued support and reiterate our appeal to anyone who might have information that could assist with the investigation to get in touch with us.”
The arrests are linked to the ongoing investigation into an arson attack at approximately 01:35hrs on Monday 23 March. Four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London, were set on fire during the incident.
The original announcement can be found here.
UPDATE: March 25, 2026:
Counter Terrorism detectives investigating an arson attack on volunteer-led ambulances run by the Jewish community in Golders Green have arrested two men in connection with the incident.
The men – [A] aged 47 and [B] aged 45 – were arrested this morning, Wednesday 25 March, at addresses in north west London and central London areas respectively. They were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and both men have been taken to a London police station where they currently remain in police custody. Officers are carrying out searches at the two addresses.
The arrests are linked to the ongoing investigation into an arson attack at approximately 01:35hrs on Monday 23 March. Four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service operating in the Golders Green area of north London, were set on fire during the incident.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation said: “We have been working around the clock since this appalling attack took place and this has led to these arrests being made this morning.
“This appears to be an important breakthrough in the investigation, but we’re also mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved. We fully recognise the local community will still be concerned and our investigation very much remains active and we will continue to work to identify and seek to arrest all of those who may have been involved.
“I’d like to thank the public and particularly the local Jewish community in the area for their continued support and reiterate our appeal to anyone who might have information that could assist with the investigation to get in touch with us.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in North West London said: “We know that community concerns remain heightened and I want to reassure the community that an enhanced, bespoke policing plan and activity, which is particularly focused around vulnerable areas right across London, will continue over coming days and weeks.
“This includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers to help protect certain locations and will also involve highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm. I must stress that these are precautionary and not in response to any specific threat, and we continue to work alongside our colleagues in Counter Terrorism policing to support their investigation.
“We will also continue to work closely with local communities and our partners to listen to their concerns and respond to these.”
The original announcement can be found here.
UPDATE: March 23, 2026:
Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) detectives investigating an arson attack on four ambulances in Barnet have set up an online portal for members of the public to share any video footage they have before, during or after the incident.
Although it has not been declared a terrorist incident at this stage, due to the circumstances of the incident and specialist capability within CTP, officers from CTP London are leading the investigation.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London said: “We’re aware this attack has caused a great amount of concern amongst the Jewish and wider community in the area, but I want to reassure the public that we have officers working around the clock to identify those responsible.
“We’ve already gathered a large amount of CCTV footage from the local area and taken a number of statements from witnesses. But we know local people may also have footage or information that could be relevant, so we would urge anyone who may have information that could help with our investigation to get in touch.
“We will continue to work closely with our frontline policing colleagues in the area and we thank the local community for their ongoing support as we continue with this investigation.”
Analysis of CCTV footage shows three people in hoods pouring an accelerant onto the vehicles parked in Highfield Road, Golders Green, at 01:45hrs this morning before igniting them and fleeing.
Hours of CCTV footage is being analysed by specialist officers to trace the suspects movements and specialist forensic officers have been sent to the scene to gather evidence.
Detectives are also aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for the attack and enquiries are ongoing to establish the authenticity and accuracy of this claim.
At this early stage of the investigation, there have been no arrests.
The original announcement can be found here.
An investigation has been launched after four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service were set on fire in Golders Green in the UK.
Officers remain on scene and the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.
At around 01:45hrs on Monday, 23 March police were called by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a fire on Highfield Road, Golders Green.
Officers attended the scene where four Hatzalah ambulances were on fire.
Nearby houses have been evacuated as a precaution and road closures remain in place. No injuries have been reported and all the fires have been put out.
We are aware of reports of explosions – this is believed to be linked to gas cannisters onboard the ambulances.
Superintendent Sarah Jackson, who leads policing in the local area said: “We know this incident will cause a great deal of community concern and officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries. We are in the process of examining CCTV and are aware of online footage. We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage.
“There have been no arrests yet, and we would urge anyone with information to please contact us as soon as possible – you can do so anonymously if you wish.
“We will be engaging with faith leaders and carrying out additional patrols in the local area as we continue our investigation to provide reassurance and a highly visible presence.”
The original announcement can be found here.
Below is a transcript of an oral statement delivered by Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams this morning following an incident in Golders Green overnight.
“Good morning, I am Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams and I lead policing in north west London, including here in Golders Green.
“I want to provide an update on a shocking incident overnight and the progress of the police investigation.
“At around 01:45hrs today we were called by the London Fire Brigade to reports of a fire on Highfield Road, Golders Green.
“We attended the scene where four ambulances from Hatzola, a volunteer-led ambulance service run by members of the Jewish community, were on fire. The attack occurred in the car park of a local Synagogue, where Hatzola’s vehicles for this area are based.
“Explosions were heard as oxygen canisters on board the ambulances exploded.
“Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution, with 34 residents displaced, and road closures put in place. Thankfully no injuries were reported and all of the fires were safely put out.
“Four ambulances have been destroyed but we understand the service remains fully operational and able to respond to emergencies.
“We were able to get local residents back into their homes relatively quickly and I thank them for their patience and understanding.
“This arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime. This is a devastating incident for our Jewish communities and we have launched an immediate investigation to identify those responsible.
“Our officers remain on scene to carry out urgent enquiries and to gather CCTV footage and other evidence.
“We believe we are looking for three suspects at this early stage. CCTV footage appears to show three people in hoods pouring an accelerant onto the vehicles before igniting them and fleeing.
“While this has not been declared a terrorist incident at this stage, the investigation is now being led by Counter Terrorism Policing with all the specialist expertise they bring, and all lines of enquiry remain open.
“We are aware of an online claim from a group taking responsibility for this attack. Establishing the authenticity and accuracy of this claim will be a priority for the investigation team, but it is not something we can confirm at this point.
“There have been no arrests at this early stage, and we would urge anyone with information to please contact us as soon as possible – you can do so anonymously if you wish.
“We have already spoken to local community and faith leaders and will continue that work today. A specific policing plan focussed on key community locations across the area is underway and will continue beyond the coming days as we move towards Passover in early April.
“This attack comes at a time when fears are already heightened given global events and recent attacks targeting Jewish communities in other parts of Europe.
“The Met Police stands shoulder to shoulder with our partners and communities. Together we take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime.
“We are stepping up our support to Jewish communities across London to engage, offer reassurance and take practical action to protect people and property.”
The original announcement can be found here.
