While looking at some of the Home Office's...interesting recent graphic design choices on social media I remembered this strangely whimsical period of Downing Street comms

I'm chairing this extremely interesting event at the Frontline Club on 19 May A panel of journalists and experts will be discussing the complex world of hacking groups, the havoc they have been wreaking in the UK, and who is behind them Join us! 👩‍💻 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/panel-disc...?

A 19-year-old neo-Nazi, Dihan Rahman, has been jailed for 4.5 years for terror offences, stalking and possessing indecent images of children He was an admin for a neo-Nazi Telegram group that encouraged international terror attacks. Its 24-year-old man leader was jailed in Belgium last year

During this segment, Kemi Badenoch asked, apparently rhetorically: "Is he creating a climate of intimidation and violence that is resulting in people being murdered?" That sentence betrays an astonishing lack of knowledge about the recent history of terror attacks and plots in this country

I am re-sharing this thread in light of the political debate on banning pro-Palestinian marches following the Golders Green attack

The alleged Golders Green attacker has been charged with attempting to murder a third man, Ishmail Hussein, at Mr Hussein's home in Southwark earlier in the day He is accused of travelling directly from the location of that attack to Golders Green, where he allegedly stabbed two Jewish men

The alleged Golders Green attacker, Essa Suleiman, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place An explanation of why we don't always see terrorism charges after terror attacks follows 🧵

The head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, has said that in light of the terror threat level rising from substantial to severe, police and the intelligence agencies "are reviewing our casework, live investigations, and subjects of interest"

The Golders Green attacker "was known to the Prevent programme," the Met Police has said after previously confirming he also had a history of serious violent offending A statement said he "was subject to a Prevent referral in 2020, which was closed in the same year" and did not specify the ideology

A young British neo-Nazi has been convicted of planning a terror attack Alfie Coleman, now 21, was arrested in September 2023 after exchanging £3,500 for what he thought was a gun and ammunition in a car park in Stratford, which he'd actually bought from an undercover MI5 officer

British Transport Police statement on the incident at Farringdon station in London: "Officers were called to Farringdon station at 9.42am today (30 April) following reports of a suspected gas leak in the station, with a small number of passengers reporting feeling unwell...

A further update on the Golders Green attack from the Metropolitan Police: It says the suspect is a 45-year-old British man who is was born in Somalia The same man was involved in an incident in Borough, near London Bridge, earlier in the day that police are also investigating

This story has now been updated with what we've heard today In one of the last messages from his Russian-speaking handler, the main arsonist was told: "If the police detain you, secretly write the word ‘geranium’ and I’ll send a lawyer to you, I’ll give you money for a week and a new phone."

The Golders Green attack has now been formally declared terrorism Laurence Taylor, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said: "Our highly specialised teams of officers are working with the Metropolitan Police to progress the investigation quickly – and establish exactly what has happened."

The man who stabbed two Jewish people in Golders Green also attempted to stab police officers, the Metropolitan Police has said The attack hasn't yet been declared terrorism but Counter Terrorism Policing officers are leading the investigation and working "to establish the full circumstances"

The trial of 3 men accused of being behind arson attacks on two homes and a car linked to Keir Starmer has begun The person who set the fires was "recruited, instructed and promised payment" by a Russian-speaking Telegram user under the name "El Money" www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/w...

I won't be covering the second day of the Palestine Action case at the Court of Appeal because of an unfortunate clash with the opening of the trial for three men accused of being responsible for fires targeting Keir Starmer, which I'm also covering But I'll be covering the ruling when it comes ⚖️

The Court of Appeal hearing in the Palestine Action case has started Lawyers for the home secretary are appealing against the High Court's ruling that banning the group as a terrorist organisation was unlawful, and PA's lawyers argue the appeal should be dismissed www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/w...

I love the London marathon for many reasons, especially because it feels like London being all of its different selves all at once This road had morris dancers at one end, hip hop blasting at the other and bagpipes between

I have attended the sentencing of John Ashby today, which will be featured in an article being published by The New York Times next week Before then I wanted to clarify some confusing reporting I've seen. The rape was religiously motivated by hostility against Muslims, although the victim was Sikh

A 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to Saturday night's arson attack on Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, where he threw a petrol bomb through a window He told the police he has "no hate towards the Jewish people", did not know the building was a synagogue and had no intention of hurting anyone

Interesting new development in the wave of arson attacks that have hit London in recent weeks Counter Terrorism Policing say they have made 7 arrests in relation to conspiracy to commit arson against a "venue related to the Jewish community." The statement said that the specific target is unknown

In a new statement this afternoon, counter-terror police have been much clearer that they are investigating this group and its potential links to Iran They are investigating whether it is "recruiting violence as a service" for payment observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya has claimed responsibility for another attack in London overnight - on the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow We await confirmation from the police but its video appears to show someone throwing a molotov cocktail at the building observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

Arson attacks on Jewish targets may be linked to group recruiting teens on Snapchat, report John Simpson and Lizzie Dearden Proxies for Iran or Hezbollah could be behind wave of fire bombings and foiled plots in London and across Europe https://bit.ly/4vAP132

News just in from the Metropolitan Police that Kensington Gardens has reopened and "two jars containing a powdered substance" were found to be non-hazardous HAYI's video had shown two people in boilersuits posing with the drones alongside two jam jars (Bonne Maman to my eye) containing white powder

Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya has claimed responsibility for the attempted arson attack on a Jewish business in Hendon last night - its 4th attack in London in 3 days Pick up tomorrow's @theobserveruk.bsky.social for my full report on the group's activities with @thejohnsimpson.bsky.social ✒️

London arson attacks latest 🧵 Counter Terrorism Policing are investigating 3 incidents, which are being treated as separate 🔥Golders Green ambulance fire on 23 March 🔥Attempted attack on Finchley synagogue at 00.10 on 15 April 🔥Arson attack on Persian-language media outlet at 20.30 on 15 April

Desperately sad report from Press Gazette: "The Evening Standard had 346 staff members when Lebedev first bought it in 2009." Under the new structure it reportedly has just 6 news reporters

This man's trial started at the Old Bailey today, where he denies preparing an act of terrorism The court heard that he had arrived twice by small boat in the UK (leaving between) and had his asylum claim refused I believe him to be the first small boat migrant charged with a UK terror plot

The first report from the Southport attack inquiry is very insightful and its findings should be taken seriously for the pool of terrorism and non-terrorism cases where I see factors in Axel Rudakubana's case frequently recur Issues regarding parenting are rarely addressed in the courts, but...

🗞️Some personal news🗞️ My full-time work for The New York Times, which was under a maternity cover contract, has come to an end after an incredible year I will still be writing for the NYT but am available for other freelance work as well and can be contacted here www.lizziedearden.com/contact

Google's AI Overview told me I hadn't written an article for the New York Times about the Southport attack, claiming: "There is no information in the search results about her writing about Southport" But the first search result was the article I'd written for the NYT about the Southport attack

Further developments today with the group behind the Golders Green fire and other attacks on Jewish and American targets across Europe 3 men have been arrested in London and in Paris, investigators say suspects were paid €500 to €1,000 to attack the Bank of America www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/w...

I've done a deep dive into the enduring drone problem driving up a violent trade in drugs and contraband inside Britain's prisons Security measures are being introduced to stop inmates being able to access drones, but smugglers are inventive and business is booming www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/w...

Interesting retweet by the former home secretary James Cleverly He was actually quite well-liked by civil servants, certainly compared to his near Conservative contemporaries, although the bar was very low

Greater Manchester Police has found "no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting" in the Gorton and Denton by-election, after Reform made a complaint over alleged "family voting" The investigation looked at potential offences under the Representation of the People Act

This boy was jailed for 3.5 years today Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said the case should be "a warning to all about the dangers of extreme online content which can have real life consequences" www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/w...

A man has appeared at the Old Bailey charged with plotting a terror attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Hull Mikka Lee Anderson, 23, from Hull, allegedly tried to recruit a helper, who reported the him to the police There have been 2 terror attacks targeting asylum seekers in recent years

The Metropolitan Police has released the call transcript of Morgan McSweeney's report of his phone being snatched in October It shows he gave his name and said it was a "government phone", but said the wrong location and gave no details of his role in No10 or the sensitive information on the device

This is a 16-year-old British boy who became obsessed with neo-Nazism from his remote Northumberland home When he was 14, he joined a group stoking a race war. But the American man running it lives in Russia, and his activities chime with sabotage efforts in Europe www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/w...

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life over the Golders Green fire, and a third suspect is still being sought Arrests have also been made in Belgium and the Netherlands for an attack, and foiled attack, claimed by the same group www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/w...

The group that claimed responsibility for the Golders Green arson first emerged on 9 March Since then, it has claimed responsibility for attacks in Belgium, the Netherlands and Greece But some of those claims don't add up, and multiple indicators point towards Iran www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/w...

I'm sure there are many more questions about Matt Goodwin's new book, but on the footnote issue I can provide some hopefully useful context My book "Plotters: The UK Terrorists Who Failed" isn't particularly long for popular non-fiction, and has 378 footnotes This apparently has...12

A snapshot of life in Golders Green this afternoon www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/w...

Counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation into the arson attack on Jewish community ambulances outside a London synagogue A group claimed responsibility for the attack this morning, which follows recent explosions it has claimed across Europe www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/w...

An Iranian man and Romanian woman have been charged after trying to enter the Scottish naval base that houses Britain's nuclear-armed submarines They walked up to the front gate and asked to be let in on Thursday afternoon www.nytimes.com/2026/03/21/w...

Breaking News: The Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets violated the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled, in a victory for The New York Times.

If anyone has seen reports of a major police incident in Salford, it was a false alarm Greater Manchester Police said they "received a report of a suspicious male" at 11:52am today. He wasn't wearing a suicide vest as shrill X accounts have been reporting, he was exercising outside in a gym vest

A date has been set for the government's appeal against the High Court's ruling that the decision to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist group was unlawful There will be a two-day hearing at the Court of Appeal on 28 and 29 April