Four men plead guilty to Golders Green ambulance arson attack

Four men have admitted setting fire to four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity in an arson attack that caused around £1m in damage. 

Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and Saif Ali - who can be named after turning 18 in June - pleaded guilty to a charge of destroying or damaging property by arson at the Old Bailey.

Ali is said to have sourced the blue Toyota Avensis they used to travel from east London to Golders Green, in north London.

Three of the men set fire to the ambulances used by Hatzola - a volunteer-led ambulance service responding to calls in north-west London - while a fourth waited in the car.

The blaze, in the early hours of 23 March this year, caused gas canisters inside the fully-stocked ambulances to explode.

Prosecutors say the attack caused around £1m in damage, with nearby flats and a synagogue also damaged by the fire.

Prosecutor Emma Harraway said at an earlier hearing: "There is significant evidence that this was a premeditated and targeted attack against the Jewish community."

The four men were arrested after an investigation by counter terrorism police.

Prosecutor Leo Seelig said he will submit to the sentencing judge that the attack had a "terrorist connection", but the court heard this is denied by all four men.

Prosecutors previously said the motive behind the attack was not known, although an Iran-aligned group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), has claimed responsibility online.

In the wake of the fire, police said officers were investigating the possible involvement of Iranian proxies in the attack, as well as other incidents involving Jewish targets in London.

But in April, Iran's embassy said it "categorically rejects" allegations of involvement in "violent activities or incidents" in the UK.

Iqbal and Khan, from Leyton, east London, Atshatshi, from Dagenham, east London, and Ali, of dual British-Pakistani nationality, from Walthamstow, were remanded into custody.

The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, ordered pre-sentence reports ahead of sentencing, which is expected in the spring of next year.

According to the charge, the four men destroyed four ambulances belonging to the Hatzola charity, and they intended to destroy or damage the property or were "reckless" as to whether it would be destroyed and life endangered.

(c) Sky News 2026: Four men plead guilty to Golders Green ambulance arson attack