Hamza Iqbal, 20 and Rehan Khan, 19 and a 17-year-old boy will appear in court tomorrow

A crowd of people gathering in the dark alongside emergency services with a blue light in the background — The scene of last week’s attack in Golders Green – (Credit – Anna Mahtani)

Three people have been charged with arson following the attack on four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green last week.

Hamza Iqbal, 20 and Rehan Khan, 19, who are both British nationals from Leyton have been charged along with a 17-year-old boy from Walthamstow, who is a dual British and Pakistani national.

They were arrested on Wednesday (1st April) at different locations in east London and the police carried out searches at these addresses.

All three are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court tomorrow (Saturday, 4th April) charged with arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered contrary to Section 1(2) – Criminal Damage Act 1971.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation said: “Since this appalling attack last week, we have been working continuously to investigate and identify those responsible. The investigation has now reached a stage where three people have been charged and they will now appear in court.”

She added: “I want to reiterate that the support we had from the local community since this attack took place has been incredible, and we will continue to work closely with local policing colleagues to do everything we can to keep the public safe.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams, who leads policing in North West London said: “We know that local community concerns continue to remain high – particularly for our Jewish communities in the Passover festival period. Since the arson attack, we have put in place an enhanced, bespoke policing plan, which has been focused around vulnerable areas not only in Golders Green, but right across London.

“This has involved a significant number of additional officers on the ground, with the aim of protecting communities, disrupting offenders, and detecting crime. This activity is ongoing and will continue over the coming days and includes specialist officers and capability being deployed alongside local officers. It is also being supported by highly visible armed police patrols to serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to cause our communities harm.”

He added: “As I’ve said before, these are precautionary measures and not in response to any specific threat, and we continue to work alongside our colleagues in Counter Terrorism Policing to support their investigation. We will also continue to work closely with local communities and our partners to listen to their concerns and respond to these.”

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