UK government pledges £250 million to boost policing for Jewish communities

The British government announced a £250 million package, to be spent over three years, to strengthen protection for Jewish communities across England and Wales. The funding will fund more than 500 additional police officers – about 300 in London, 80 in Greater Manchester and the remainder in force areas with sizable Jewish populations such as Hertfordshire, Essex, Northumbria, Sussex, Thames Valley, West Midlands and West Yorkshire. It also allocates £86 million to the Metropolitan Police, £22 million to Greater Manchester Police, £41 million for national policing coordination and antisemitism training, and £59 million for Counter‑Terrorism Police.

The investment follows a surge in antisemitic incidents, including the April 2024 stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green (classified as a terrorist act), a series of arson attacks on synagogues, and the October 2025 terrorist assault on a Manchester synagogue. In response, the national terror threat level was raised to “severe”. Prime Minister (outgoing) Keir Starmer said the rise in antisemitism “has been a test of our values” and that tackling it “has been central to my leadership from day one”. Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones described the funding as “record” support to keep Jewish people safe. The package builds on an earlier £25 million emergency fund and will continue Project Servator, using specialist and plain‑clothes officers to spot suspicious behaviour.