GOLDERS GREEN — Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced £25 million to increase security for Jewish communities and boost police patrols around synagogues, schools and community centres after the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north-west London. Police are treating the attack as a terrorist incident.

Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila are in hospital in a stable condition. A 45-year-old British national born in Somalia is in custody after being tasered by police and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Mahmood said the suspect came to the UK lawfully as a child.

Parts of Highfield Avenue, Beverley Gardens and Golders Green Road were sealed off following the attack but were reopened by 7am the next morning. The stabbings follow a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in London since March, including two previous incidents in Golders Green.

"I, of course, can understand why people who are both visibly and not visibly Jewish are feeling a huge amount of pressure and fear at the moment," Mahmood said. "The question for me is, what am I going to do to ensure that people are able to go about their business safely, just like their fellow citizens, and that they also feel safe as well?"

She said the government would fast-track new legislation to tackle state threats. "And that is the action that I am taking, practical action, in order to put in the enhanced policing, the higher spending on security so that people can go about their business," she said.

Met Commissioner Mark Rowley addressed the background of the man in custody. "The suspect has a history of mental health issues, drug use and convictions for violence," Rowley said.

Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said the attacks were affecting daily life for Jewish people across the country. "There are Brits in London in particular, Manchester, but probably all around the country, who are now thinking they cannot live a normal life. And it's not one attack, it's multiple attacks," he said.

Several of the UK's leading imams, including the chief Imam of Scotland, Sayed Razawi, and Jewish leaders signed the Drumlanrig Accords last year to strengthen Jewish-Muslim relationships in the UK. In a joint statement, leading UK imams said: "We note with grave concern the violent attack on two Jewish men in Golders Green, London. We extend our thoughts and solidarity to those injured, their families and the wider Jewish community."