London Jewish ambulance arson: four plead guilty

Four young men pleaded guilty on Friday to criminal damage linked to an arson attack that destroyed ambulances owned by the Jewish charity Hatzola in London.

British nationals Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, and Judex Atshatshi, 18, and British-Pakistani Saif Ali, 18, entered the pleas at London's Old Bailey central criminal court over the March 23 attack.

Four Hatzola ambulances were destroyed in a London neighbourhood with a significant Jewish population. The vehicles were parked near a synagogue, and the damage was valued at £1 million, or $1.4 million.

Three of the men set fire to the ambulances, while the fourth waited in a getaway car.

Iqbal, Khan and Atshatshi entered their pleas by video link. Ali was present in the dock.

At an earlier hearing, prosecution lawyer Emma Harraway told the court there was strong evidence that the attack was “premeditated and targeted” against the Jewish community.

An Iran-linked group known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyah, or HAYI, had previously claimed multiple attacks, including the destruction of the ambulances. The UK government has announced plans to ban HAYI, also known as the Islamic Movement of Companions of the Right, as a national security threat.

Defence lawyers denied that the four defendants had terrorism connections to groups proscribed in the UK.

The four men were remanded in custody and are expected to be sentenced in spring 2027. A fifth defendant, Subhan Ahmed, 18, pleaded not guilty to assisting an offender and is due to go on trial at the Old Bailey in January.