Extra £250m to boost Jewish community safety

Police forces across England are set to receive a £251 million funding boost to strengthen protection for Jewish communities following a rise in antisemitic incidents, the government has announced. The Metropolitan Police will receive £86 million to recruit roughly 300 additional officers, increasing police presence in Jewish neighbourhoods and around synagogues, schools and community centres. The move comes after a series of antisemitic attacks in London, including the stabbing of two men in Golders Green in April, and after the national terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the money would deliver “a step change in protection” for Jewish communities. Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Matt Jukes added that the funding would allow the force to bolster its existing Community Protection Teams, establish further teams across three sites in London, recruit up to 300 officers and create a Golders Green community hub. Greater Manchester Police is to receive £22 million to sustain the increased policing presence after the Heaton Park attack last year, in which two Jewish men, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were killed. The remaining funds will be shared among seven other police force areas with significant Jewish populations—Hertfordshire, Essex, Sussex, Thames Valley, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Northumbria—receiving a total of about £43 million. An additional £41 million is earmarked for national policing coordination, including antisemitism training for all officers in England and Wales, and £59 million will go to counter‑terrorism policing. Sir Keir Starmer also said the package would provide “a step change in protection and policing so Jewish communities can live and observe their religion free from fear”. Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones stated the government was “going further and providing substantial funding to help keep Jewish people in London safe”. Mark Gardner, chief executive of the Community Security Trust, welcomed the measures, saying the increased policing and government action came “not a minute too soon”. The announcement adds to the £25 million emergency fund unveiled in April after the Golders Green attack, which the Metropolitan Police described at the time as “one‑off funding” that had retrospectively covered the cost of surging officers into north‑west London. The government also confirmed £32.4 million for protective security at Jewish sites in 2026‑27, covering synagogues, schools and community centres. This figure combines the £28.4 million announced for the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant in February with a further £4 million allocated in May. Other previously announced measures referenced alongside the policing package include £7 million to combat antisemitism in schools and universities and the expansion of community‑cohesion programmes.