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Sadiq Khan says Iran war is fuelling hatred on London streets after anti-semitic attacks

City Hall pledges £875,000 to grassroots organisations as antisemitic incidents hit 1,844 and Prevent referrals reach all-time high

Sadiq Khan

Khan noted he will continue funding grassroots organisations to counter abuse and hatred, supporting all Londoners regardless of faith or background

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Highlights

  • Sadiq Khan warns the Iran conflict is fuelling hate crime and extremism on London's streets and online.
  • Four Jewish community ambulances were set on fire in Golders Green in a suspected antisemitic hate crime.
  • Prevent referrals are at an all-time high with under-18s accounting for 44 per cent of Londoners reported.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that the US-Israeli war on Iran is fuelling hatred on the streets of London and sowing fear and division online.
City Hall has announced a further £875,000 in funding for grassroots organisations to combat extremism bringing the total pledged since 2016 to £16 m.
The announcement comes as police in north London investigate a suspected antisemitic hate crime after four Jewish community ambulances belonging to Hatzola were set on fire in Golders Green.

There were 1,844 antisemitic incidents in the capital last year and the British Muslim Trust reported a rise in mosque attacks.

Referrals to the government's anti-terror programme Prevent are at an all-time high with under-18s accounting for 44 per cent of Londoners reported.


Khan stated "We continue to see fear and hatred peddled online and on our streets while the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is having ripple effects here in the capital."

Funding to fight extremism

The mayor's Shared Endeavour Fund will support organisations tackling online extremism misinformation anti-Muslim hostility antisemitism and far-right and Islamist extremism.

The fund has already delivered over 130 projects working with more than 200,000 Londoners.

Khan said: "I will not stand by while Londoners face abuse and hatred and that is why I will continue to fund grassroots organisations to counter this supporting Londoners no matter their faith or background."

Metropolitan police commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London warned the global environment was "shifting quickly" adding there had been a rise in young people being drawn towards radicalisation through extremist content online. "

There is no tolerance for hate or extremist ideologies in London and these projects will be part of the mission to defeat terrorism," she said.

Since Trump and Netanyahu launched airstrikes on Iran ,Tehran has escalated attacks on Gulf neighbours and tightened its grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz sending shockwaves across London's communities.

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