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Detectives investigating a series of attacks on Jewish targets have arrested seven people for allegedly plotting a further new firebombing, as a teenager pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a synagogue on Saturday.
The arrests by counter-terrorism officers follow fire bombings or attempted arsons of synagogues and other Jewish targets across London.
Police also said a man had been arrested under terrorism laws over an incident last week close to the Israeli embassy.
The attacks have increased fears in British Jewish communities and left the government and police scrambling to show they can be kept safe.
Some of the seven arrests for conspiracy to commit arson were made by armed officers. Police said three men, aged 24, 25 and 26, were detained at gunpoint in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.
These arrests were made on Sunday evening and all three have since been released on bail.
Police said that on Monday a man aged 25 was arrested in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
Also on Monday, three people were arrested in a car near Birmingham. Those detained, also on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson, were a 26-year-old man and two women aged 50 and 59. All of those arrested on Monday remain in custody.
Police said: “At this time, while it is believed that the intended target of this conspiracy is a venue related to the Jewish community, the specific target or venue is not known.”
The attacks started on 23 March when ambulances run by a Jewish charity were set alight in Golders Green, north London. There was a pause and then last week, there was a series of arson attacks and attempted arsons on an Iranian dissident media outlet, synagogues in Finchley and Harrow, and a Jewish charity.
There were also videos posted by a group claiming responsibility for all the attacks, which also showed drones being flown near the Israeli embassy in Kensington Gardens and which triggered concerns that hazardous powder may have been used.
Officers in protective suits were deployed to search the area, with debris found, as well as powder in jars which was assessed as being harmless.
Counter-terrorism police on Tuesday said a man, 39, had been arrested in connection with the incident near the Israeli embassy. He was detained under under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and remains in custody.
Also on Tuesday a 17-year-old male who had been charged with arson not endangering life over the attack on the Harrow synagogue , pleaded guilty during his first court appearance. Because of his age he cannot be named, but the teenager is a British national from Brent, north-west London.
The judge at the hearing was told the teenager was caught on CCTV, and while masked, did not wear gloves and a fingerprint tied him to the scene.
Westminster magistrates court was told the youth clambered over a wall, broke a window and then a lit object was thrown into the synagogue.
An accomplice, one of two being sought by police, filmed the attack with the footage released in a video claiming responsibility from a group counter-terrorism officials believe may be linked to Iran, called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right.)
In interview the youth told police he did not mean to hurt anyone: “I have no hate towards the Jewish people of their community. I didn’t know it was a synagogue. I genuinely thought it was an empty building.”
The teenager was released on bail with conditions including staying away from synagogues, ahead of his next court hearing in June.
Since the attacks started 23 people have been arrested, and police say seven have been charged with arson-related offences.
Deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, said: “One of our key lines of inquiry is whether criminal proxies, that is to say people being paid money to carry out a crime, are being used to commit any of these arsons. While our investigations into this are still ongoing, my message to anyone even considering getting involved in this type of activity is this: the stakes are high and it is absolutely not worth the risk.
“When we identify you, we will seek to prosecute you. This will include considering offences under the National Security Act, which comes with a significant sentence and lifetime restrictions. We will not rest until all those responsible for these acts are held to full account.”
