Four men plead guilty to London arson attack that destroyed Jewish charity ambulances

Four men admitted on Friday being behind an arson attack on London ambulances owned by a Jewish charity at a UK court hearing.

British nationals Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and British-Pakistani Saif Ali, 18, all pleaded guilty to criminal damage linked to the 23 March attack.

Four ambulances run by the Hatzola charity were destroyed in the London neighbourhood of Golders Green that is home to a significant Jewish population, one of a spate of attacks in the British capital targeting Jewish or Israel-linked locations.

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

The vehicles were parked near a synagogue, and the damage was valued at £1 million (€1.1 million).

Iqbal, Khan and Atshatshi entered their pleas by video link, while Ali, wearing a white shirt, was present in the dock at London's Old Bailey central criminal court.

At a previous hearing, prosecution lawyer Emma Harraway told the court there was strong evidence this was "a premeditated and targeted attack against the Jewish community."

Several antisemitic attacks in London this year targeted synagogues and other Jewish sites.

An Iran-linked group known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyah (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 the four defendants had any "terrorism" connections to groups proscribed in the UK.

The 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.