Police arrest suspect who made “allegedly antisemitic comments” when being detained in connection with alleged arson attack in Hackney
Police have arrested a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a house in Hackney.
The suspect made “allegedly antisemitic comments” when being detained in connection with the fire on Newick Road in London. Police were called to the scene shortly before 12.45 this afternoon.
The police believe that the blaze was started deliberately.
It is understood that the ground floor and first floor of the three-story house have been destroyed by the fire, with four victims injured. They have been taken to hospital but are not in a life-threatening condition, according to reports.
A suspect – a man in his 60s – also reportedly suffered minor injuries from the fire and is being treated in hospital. He has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
The London Fire Brigade said that eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters helped to bring the fire under control.
Detective Chief Superintendent at the Metropolitan Police, James Conway, said: “On his arrest the man made a number of threatening comments, some of which were allegedly antisemitic. We take instances of antisemitism extremely seriously and for this reason we’re investigating the incident as a potential hate crime. Undoubtedly this will be extremely concerning news for our Jewish communities in Hackney and beyond.” He added: “Whilst the investigation will continue to explore the motivation for this offence, we believe at this stage that this was centred on a localised housing-related issue. We have no indication, at this very early stage, that the motivation was connected with any specific local or global events.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Over the past few months, we have seen an extremely worrying surge in antisemitic violence, from beatings to knife-wielding. This suspected arson attack, if it had an antisemitic motivation, takes our society to a whole new level of hate. Was it not enough that Jews may, judging from the evidence, have been burned alive by Hamas on 7th October? We cannot sit by as that grotesque violence is potentially mimicked by Jew-haters in the UK. We thank the first-responders and medical practitioners for bringing the fire under control and treating the wounded, and commend the police for a swift arrest. Justice must now be done.”
Image credit: London Fire Brigade
