Alex Partridge
Politics reporter

Image source, PA Media

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says the safety of Jewish people is now a "national emergency".

Speaking to broadcasters while visiting the scene, she said, "this is something which we have known has been escalating in terms of terrorist attacks and antisemitic incidents, targeting Jews" and the community is "absolutely terrified".

"Communities where there are large numbers of Jews need an increased police presence".

She said there should be government funding for Shomrim, the volunteer organisation who responded to the initial reports of the stabbing - which says it is voluntarily funded by local communities - and more money for the Community Security Trust.

"The government have said they want to do more, that is one small thing they could do, what has been happening so far as not been enough," she said.

Image source, Pool

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says "ordinary Londoners have a responsibility to show allyship and solidarity to Jewish people".

"I've never experienced this level of attacks on Jewish people across our country," he says.

Khan says he has spoken to police and the local community today to see "what more we can do and we must do".

He repeats that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley has confirmed there will be more policing.

"The key thing that he and I are determined to do is to make this permanent," Khan says.

"We need a permanent increased visibility in this community to deter bad people and terrorists from trying to attack this community."

According to figures from the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which monitors antisemitism in the UK, antisemitic incidents have risen sharply over the past decade.

The CST defines incidents broadly, covering violent assaults, threats, damage to property and abusive behaviour, both online and offline.

The organisation has previously linked surges in reports to periods of heightened tension in the Middle East, as well as increased online activity and reporting awareness.

A particularly pronounced spike is visible in 2023, when reported incidents exceeded 4,000 – by far the highest level on record.

Lucy Manning
Reporting from Golders Green

Image source, PA Media

The chief rabbi has told BBC News that visibly Jewish people are not safe on British streets after the attack in Golders Green.

"I'm sad to say that today's event proves that if you are visibly Jewish you're not safe, and far more needs to be done," says Sir Ephraim Mervis.

He says he wants to hear British voices across the country stand with the Jewish community and condemn these attacks.

"It's a sustained effort to terrorise the Jewish community, which will not succeed, because we're a strong and resilient community.

"We face these kind of attacks and these incidents with great fortitude. However, this cannot be allowed to continue."

He says much more needs to be done.

"We need to tackle not just symptoms, but also the causes. We need to recognise that state-sponsored terrorism on the streets of our country is simply unacceptable."

• Earlier, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said more than 20 Iran-generated plots had been foiled in the UK in recent years, but that it was "too early to say" if there was an Iran link to today's attacks in Golders Green.

Rajini Vaidyanathan
Reporting from Golders Green

Image source, EPA

Met Commissioner Mark Rowley has spoken separately to the BBC after his statement to the press.

Asked whether there is any indication this attack was linked to Iran, he replies: "It is too early to say whether this is an individual inspired or someone directly encouraged - of course the inquiry will work its way through that."

He continues to say police have seen more than 20 Iran-generated plots on the streets of the UK in recent years, which counter-terror teams working with MI5 have foiled.

Some, he adds, were intended to be deadly, and some were targeted against Jewish communities.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was also asked earlier whether there was a suspected link to Iran. She replied it was "very early to say" what the motivations may have been and that it would be "improper to speculate".

"As soon as more facts are established, then we will of course be keeping the public updated," she said.

We can now bring you footage, filmed on a mobile phone, of the moment police detained the suspect in Golders Green.

The footage shows the suspect approaching the officers. One officer Tasers him, sending the suspect to the floor, while shouting at him to drop the knife.

While the suspect is on the floor, the officers kick the suspect in the head as they try to disarm him.

Earlier, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said the officers "confronted a man they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent and continued to pose a clear threat.

"These were not armed officers, and they feared that he was carrying an explosive device.

"Using only their training, their courage and their Tasers, they managed to detain him whilst he continued to try and attack and stab them."

Image source, Reuters

Buckingham Palace has just shared a statement, which reads: "His Majesty is being kept fully informed and is naturally deeply concerned, in particular about the impact for the Jewish community.

"His thoughts and prayers are with the two individuals who were injured and offers his heartfelt gratitude to those who so selflessly rushed to their aid."

Police moved quickly to declare a terrorism incident - and that’s unusualpublished at 16:46 BST

16:46 BST

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Counter-terrorism police officers have a tried-and-tested system for assessing whether a violent incident counts as terrorism.

Put simply, they look at the initial evidence and work out whether the act of violence was carried out in an attempt to influence the government, or to intimidate the public, or a section of it, in order to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. That is the legal definition of terrorism set out in our law.

But in recent years the police have hesitated from making speedy calls - partly because of the outcome of the 2021 bomb blast outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Police called it terrorism - but ultimately there was no evidence the man had extremist views - and plenty that he had been very mentally unwell.

After that, counter terrorism chiefs indicated that sometimes they will need to take longer to make the call one way or another.

The fact that they have called this terrorism so quickly today indicates very strongly that they believe they have evidence that points to an alleged “mindset”. That can often be something the suspect has said, the type of victim, or material found on their phone or computer.

Image source, Pool

The home secretary says the government will "strain every sinew" to keep the Jewish community safe following this morning's attack.

Shabana Mahmood says she will not “tolerate a situation where our Jewish citizens have to lead smaller lives” to keep themselves safe.

Ministers have already been taking action on security and ensuring Jewish community sites are well protected, she says, adding that "an enhanced police presence" will continue.

"We will go further," she tells reporters, including on action to tackle the "root causes" of antisemitism in society.

On the police investigation, Mahmood says the initial circumstances of the attack suggest it is correct to designate it as a terrorist incident.

In the last hour, we've had updates from both the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley. Here's what we've learned:

• A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody. He has ahistory of serious violence and mental health issues, Rowley said
• The attack has been declared a terrorist incident. An investigation is under way to determine whether the Jewish community was being "deliberately" targeted
• Two men, aged 76 and 34, suffered stab wounds. Police officers responding to the stabbing were also attacked
• Rowley, who was heckled with chants of "shame on you" while delivering his statement, said the unarmed officers hadfeared the suspect was carrying an explosive device

• The commissioner said police activity has stepped up in the capital in recent weeks and asked: "Why don't we see more condemnation of recent attacks?"

Image source, Reuters

After Rowley, Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Sarah Sackman, says what happened on the streets of Golders Green today is "appalling".

"An attack on Britain's Jews is an attack on Britain itself," she says.

She adds that she has just been with the home secretary, and the Prime Minister has called a Cobra meeting.

"We need to hear from the moderate majority who want to root this sort of hate out of our communities," she says.

Image source, PA Media

Rowley is asked whether visibly Jewish people are safe on the streets of London.

He responds by saying today's attack was "awful" and it is "completely understandable" why Jewish Londoners feel afraid. He says that is why "so much extra policing" is being put out and the force will look at what more it can do.

He is asked what he says to chants of "shame on you" which could be heard during his response.

He says he has received "so many thanks from Jewish communities" in recent weeks over the extra policing that is done, and people recognise officers going above and beyond, such as those who responded today.

Referring to a rise in "racist and antisemitic hate crime", Rowley says police are aware that some people are encouraged or paid to commit acts of violence by foreign organisations and hostile states. Though he says he can't comment on any live investigations.

He warns if someone is acting out of hatred, racism or anti-semitism "we will come after you".

He further points to increased police activity in recent weeks - including additional shifts to "protect Londoners".

Rajini Vaidyanathan
Reporting from Golders Green

We can hear heckling from the crowd as Rowley takes questions.

"Shame on you" people chant, while others are calling on him to resign.

It's hard to even hear the commissioner as people shout over him.

Rowley goes on by saying that antisemitism is "fuelled by hateful and extremist ideologies".

"It comes from hostile states, the extreme right, and the extreme left. These are terrorist and hateful belief systems but they're all rooted in racism," he says.

The commissioner says it's time to ask some difficult questions.

"Why don't we see more condemnation of the attacks we've seen in recent weeks? Where are all the voices against hate? And where is the solidarity with fellow Londoners who are being targeted simply for who they are?"

He adds that debate about international affairs should never be allowed to "legitimise antisemitism or violence against British Jews here on the streets of London", and "when that line is blurred, attacks become more likely".

"This is an attack on one community and an attack on one community is an attack on all london's communities," Rowley continues.

"This was an attack on Londoners. It was an attack on British Jews.

"Too many Jewish people in this country feel they have to make choices that no other Briton ever has to make.

"They have to chose what they dress, where they go or how visibly they live their lives. That is completely unacceptable and has gone on for far too long."

Image source, Getty Images

The commissioner, speaking next to local MP Sarah Sackman, calls the incident "another horrendous act of violence directed against our Jewish communities".

He adds it will rightly "shock and anger" people in London.

Rowley continues by saying his first thoughts are with the two British Jews attacked while going about their daily lives, which they should be able to do "freely and safely".

He also pays tribute to the police officers whose actions "undoubtedly" prevented further injury and saved lives.

"They confronted a man they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent, and continued to pose a clear threat," he says.

"These were not armed officers and they feared he was carrying an explosive device."

He says they managed to detain the man while he was trying to stab them. "Without their bravery I doubt to think what the outcome could have been," he says.

Rowley says the man arrested over the attack has a history of serious violence and mental health issues.

Image source, Reuters

Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, has started speaking in Golders Green, where the attack took place earlier today.

We will bring his remarks shortly.

Image source, Reuters

Metropolitan Police commissioner Mark Rowley is in Golders Green and is speaking soon.

He is accompanied by Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis.

We'll bring you updates as they come.