On Thursday, it emerged that the Golders Green terror suspect had previously been jailed for stabbing a police officer and his dog. Essa Suleiman, 45, was arrested on Wednesday after two men were stabbed in broad daylight in the Jewish area. It can now be revealed that the Somali-born British national was jailed indefinitely in 2008 for the knife attack on the officer.
Following his release, the former security guard and interpreter was referred to Britain's anti-radicalisation scheme, Prevent, in 2020 as a potential risk to the public. However, within months, his case was closed after it was decided he did not pose a risk of launching a terror attack. The authorities now face questions about why the suspect was left free to prowl the streets.
On Thursday night, detectives were still quizzing Suleiman, who is accused of attempting to murder Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76. In an unprecedented intervention, Britain's top police officer described the suspect, within hours of his arrest, as a 'dangerous man', after revealing he had a history of 'serious violence and mental health issues'. Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley praised his officers who tackled the suspect, saying 'apprehending violent and dangerous criminals is a messy task which may appear shocking to observers with little experience of policing in the real world'.
He spoke as security chiefs raised the UK terror threat level from 'substantial' to 'severe', meaning an attack in the next six months is 'highly likely'. The Home Secretary announced the decision after a series of attacks on the Jewish community in recent weeks, culminating in the double stabbing. The threat level has not been raised since the Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing in November 2021, when a failed asylum seeker detonated an improvised explosive device, killing himself and injuring a taxi driver.
In other developments on Thursday: The Prime Minister faced chants of 'Keir Starmer: Jew harmer' from protesters as he finally visited Golders Green to meet emergency services who responded to the attack; Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood hinted at a ban on pro-Palestine marches after admitting they can foster hate. But the Daily Mail discovered the Government blocked proposals for such a ban just last month; Met Chief Sir Mark issued an unprecedented rebuke to Greens leader Zack Polanski, who suggested officers arresting the knifeman had been heavy-handed; Hundreds of Jewish supporters gathered outside Downing Street to demand Sir Keir take action to protect the community.
Suleiman came to Britain, legally, from Somalia as a teenager, before being granted citizenship. He found work as a Somali translator for the Metropolitan Police and then as a school security guard before he was involved in a brutal attack on a police officer in January 2008. Dog handler Neil Sampson was responding to reports of a knife attack on a tenant at a property in Swindon, when he was stabbed by Suleiman, who was 27. His life was saved by his police dog Anya who was knifed in the stomach after tackling the knifeman. Anya was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal, the animal equivalent of the George Cross, for bravery.
After Suleiman admitted the attacks, he was initially detained under an interim hospital order for psychiatric testing. At his sentencing, Mr Sampson told the judge Suleiman 'should not be in a position again to hurt a member of the public or another police officer'. Andy Marsh, then Assistant Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police, described Suleiman as 'a very dangerous man'.
On Thursday the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said the suspect had been in trouble with police more recently. The campaign group claimed Suleiman had gone to vigils held for the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas, where it was claimed that he was verbally abusive towards Jews. A CAA spokesman said: 'This information raises serious new questions about the terrorist incident. Those questions deserve urgent answers.'
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'This man is clearly a danger to the UK's Jewish community. He should not have been walking the streets. We have been importing anti-Semitism and extremism from around the world and it has to end. People like this should be deported where they are not British citizens, and if they have acquired British citizenship they should be stripped of it if they are dual nationals or are eligible to be citizens of another country.'
The Prevent programme has been criticised after repeated failures to stop terrorists and mass murderers including Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, David Amess's killer Ali Harbi Ali, Reading attacker Khairi Saadallah, Parsons Green bomber Ahmed Hassan, Fishmongers Hall killer Usman Khan, and Sudesh Amman, who stabbed two people in Streatham. Police believe that at 8.50am on Wednesday, Suleiman – holding a knife – tried to force his way into a property in Borough, south-east London. Officers were called to reports of an altercation, but when they arrived six minutes later, the suspect had left.
