UK police charge man with attempted murder for stabbing two Jewish Londoners

UK police said on Friday they had charged a 45-year-old man over the stabbing of two Jewish men in north London, the latest in a string of hate attacks.

"Essa Suleiman ... has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place in relation to an attack in Golders Green on Wednesday," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed Thursday to boost security for the Jewish community after accusations from angry British Jews that his government has repeatedly failed to protect them.

Read moreStarmer heckled with ‘Jew harmer’ shouts after London knife attack

Later Thursday, the interior ministry announced that the country's terrorism threat level had been raised to "severe", the second highest in the five-tier system, meaning another attack "is highly likely in the next six months".

The two men were attacked in broad daylight in Golders Green, a north London area with a large Jewish population.

The victims, aged 76 and 34, were in a stable condition in hospital.

The suspected attacker is a British national who was born in Somalia and came to the UK as a child.

Suleiman appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court flanked by two guards, dressed in a grey tracksuit and sporting a bruised face.

Footage of his arrest in Golders Green showed police using an electroshock weapon before forcibly restraining him on the ground. 

The court heard he had been living at a mental health facility in the capital.

He spoke only to confirm his name, and will next appear at London's Old Bailey court on May 15.

Police had previously said the suspect in the attack had a history of serious violence and mental health issues.

They confirmed he had previously ⁠been referred ​to the counter-radicalisation scheme Prevent in 2020.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)