Amid spate of arson attacks on Jewish sites, Starmer warns of ‘malign state actors’ |
LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday he was “increasingly concerned” about a growing use of proxies by foreign states to carry out attacks in Britain, pledging to bring forward new legislation following recent attacks.
London has seen a string of attacks — mostly arson — on Jewish-linked sites in recent weeks. Some of these are being investigated by counter-terrorism officers, although police say they are not currently being treated as terrorist incidents.
British authorities have increasingly pointed to hostile state activity as part of the backdrop to recent incidents, warning that foreign governments may seek to operate through criminal networks or proxies to maintain deniability.
“I’m increasingly concerned that a number of countries are using proxies for attacks in this country,” he said, speaking after meeting members of the Jewish community at Kenton United Synagogue, which was the target of an arson attack on Sunday.
The fire caused minor smoke damage to an internal room, and there were no injuries. A 17-year-old British boy pleaded guilty on........