Hundreds of extra officers to ‘reassure’ Manchester’s communities

Hundreds of extra police officers are on the streets of Manchester following Thursday’s deadly synagogue attack.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers had been working 12-hour shifts and had rest days cancelled since the attack, while other forces had also contributed officers.

The Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, due to start on Sunday, had also been factored into police planning and operations, said ACC Sykes, who stressed that his force had the resources needed to reassure the city’s Jewish population and other communities.

“We’ve got lots of officers and staff out there – very, very visible,” he said.

“We have got extra patrols,” he explained. “So we have our normal policing [and put] an awful lot of extra staff into certain communities and here into the city centre.”

Two Jewish men – Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz – were killed when Jihad Al-Shamie drove a car into people outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in the Crumpsall area of north Manchester.

The knifeman then tried to force his way into the synagogue before being shot dead by armed police.

Three others were injured in the attack.

Echoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Greater Manchester’s chief constable Sir Stephen Watson, ACC Sykes questioned whether it was “appropriate” for a pro-Palestine march to be taking place in the city centre on Saturday.

He told the BBC: “We should be thinking about those people that lost their lives there on Thursday and I think people need to consider what is appropriate if people do use their right to protest.”

ACC Sykes said the force had attempted to “keep disruption” to a minimum during the protests.

The pro-Palestinian protest initially attracted about 100 supporters outside Manchester Cathedral.

GMP officers intervened when a small counter-demo approached the pro-Palestinian group.

Meanwhile, four people remain in custody after being arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after the synagogue attack. A woman and a man who were arrested have been released.

All six were arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.

On Saturday GMP said it had been granted warrants of further detention for four of them, meaning they can remain in custody for up to a further five days.

They are for two men, aged 30 and 32 and both arrested in Prestwich; a 61-year-old woman arrested in Prestwich; and a 46-year-old woman arrested in Farnworth.

The remaining two people, an 18-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man, who were both arrested in Farnworth, were taken in custody for questioning and later released with no further action, police said.

GMP confirmed on Friday that Mr Daulby had been fatally hit by police gunfire as officers shot at Al-Shamie.

A police bullet also injured Yoni Finlay, who is being treated in hospital.

Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian heritage, was not known to Counter Terrorism Police but had been recently bailed after being arrested on suspicion of rape.

Raids have been carried out in at least three locations across Manchester and Bolton in connection with the attack.

Elsewhere, the prime minister on Saturday faced angry questions from some members of the congregation at a synagogue in his London constituency when he attended a service to show support and solidarity after the attack.

Sir Keir Starmer was welcomed by those who had just said prayers for the victims, addressed the congregation and took questions.

One person accused him of a “betrayal”, saying there was real fury amongst British Jews against his government amid a rise in antisemitism in the UK – comments which were met with applause.

Sir Keir stayed on to discuss the issues informally and there was also applause for him at the end, with community leaders saying they were pleased he had attended to try and forge a path of dialogue.

He previously condemned the “vile individual” who carried out the “horrific” attack and promised to do “everything” in his power to protect Jewish people and defeat antisemitic hate.