Police forces are to receive extra funds to help increase protection in Jewish communities.

The unit will initially focus on antisemitic threats, but could serve as a model for protecting other communities facing spikes in hate crime Police forces across England are to get a £251m funding boost to help protect Jewish communities following a rise in antisemitic attacks, the government has announced. The Metropolitan Police will receive £86m to recruit about 300 extra officers to help increase police presence in Jewish neighbourhoods, and around synagogues, schools and community centres. It comes after a series of antisemitic attacks in London, including the stabbing of two men in Golders Green in April, and the raising of the national terror threat level from substantial to severe. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the fund would deliver a "step change in protection" for Jewish communities. Met deputy commissioner Matt Jukes said the investment would allow the force to bolster its existing Community Protection Teams and establish further teams across three sites in London, as well as recruiting up to 300 officers and creating a Golders Green community hub. Greater Manchester Police is set to receive £22m to sustain the increase in policing presence following the attack in Heaton Park last year in which two Jewish men, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were killed. The money will also be distributed to seven other police force areas with significant Jewish populations, which will share about £43m between them. They are Hertfordshire, Essex, Sussex, Thames Valley, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Northumbria.