Britain's government on Thursday said it would introduce new legislation to tackle state-sponsored threats carried out by proxies, after two Jewish men were stabbed in north London in an apparent antisemitic attack on Wednesday.
UK Security Minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio that the government would fast-track legislation to allow the prosecution of people acting as proxies for a state-sponsored group under Britain's National Security Act.
The government said the new powers would mean proxies could be dealt with in the same way as foreign intelligence services.
The plans were announced after Wednesday's stabbings, which follow a spate of recent attacks, many involving arson, on Jewish targets in London. Last October, two people and an attacker were killed after a man drove into a synagogue in the northern English city of Manchester.
Britain's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall, told the BBC the attacks had become "the biggest national security emergency" since 2017, when there was a string of high-profile attacks.
Possible Iranian links
The attacks have occurred amid warnings from security officials that Iran has sought to use criminal proxies to carry out hostile activity.
Police said after an arson attack at a synagogue this month that they were investigating possible Iranian links to the incidents. A pro-Iranian government group has said it was responsible.
Jarvis also said on Thursday that an additional 25 million pounds would be allocated to protect the Jewish community, bringing the total funding this year to 58 million pounds.