Counterterrorism authorities are currently examining whether Jihad Al-Shamie, the perpetrator of the synagogue attack, had previously issued death threats to a Member of Parliament regarding his stance on Israel.
Conservative MP John Howell reportedly received a series of menacing emails following his public support for Israel’s right to self-defense. One of the messages, signed by a person named “Jihad Alshamie,” included a chilling statement suggesting that “It is people like you who deserve to die.” However, it remains uncertain if this individual corresponds to the attacker.
Former MP John Howell, who represented Henley from 2008 to 2024, was provided with police protection and removed the contact details of his local office from his website as a precaution.
Reflecting on the threatening letter, Mr. Howell emphasized the gravity of such threats, stating, “The last thing I want to appear as is a drama queen, but you have to take seriously a threat when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead.’ It is not just a question of me, it is my family and my staff. All it takes is one person out there who is eccentric, with a distorted view of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.”
Mr. Howell commended the Thames Valley Police for offering him “extremely good security advice” and mentioned the possibility of having a police presence during his local office visits if he feels unsafe.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, speaking on television today, confirmed that Al-Shamie was not currently under active investigation by counterterrorism authorities or security services, nor had he been referred to the Prevent program.
Jihad Al-Shamie was fatally shot by police yesterday following his assault on a synagogue in Manchester, which resulted in the deaths of two other individuals in what authorities have labeled as a terrorist incident.
The attack occurred on Yom Kippur, the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar, outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue on Middleton Road in Crumpsall.
