Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more

There is an elevated threat to British Jews and Israeli institutions in the UK following the conflict in the Middle East, MI5 has warned, following a decision to raise the terror threat level from substantial to severe.

The decision to raise the level was taken by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), an arm of MI5, yesterday following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, London.

In a brief published on Friday, the domestic security service MI5 said the UK has been experiencing a gradual increase in terrorist threats for some time, driven by a rise in both Islamist and Extreme Right-Wing terror.

It said that the current threat was also characterised by an “elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions, in the context of the conflict in the Middle East, evident in recent incidents in the UK and overseas”.

MI5 warned that “we are also seeing a sustained and significant tempo of State-linked threats, including to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions”. The Golders Green stabbings are the latest in a series of attacks on Jewish sites over recent weeks and have prompted accusations that the government has not done enough to tackle antisemitism.

“Severe” is the second-highest threat level and means attacks are highly likely in the next six months. The last time it was this high was in November 2021 after the bombing outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital and the murder of Sir David Amess.

It was then lowed to back to substantial in February 2022.

This is a developing story. More to follow...