Assembly members want the Government to give London Fire Brigade £10m for national security work, after the arson attacks on London's Jewish community.
The London Assembly has asked the Government to give the London Fire Brigade £10 million in 2027-28 for its national security work, after a run of arson attacks on London’s Jewish community this spring that included the destruction of four Hatzola ambulances serving north-west London.
The Assembly’s Fire Committee set out the case in a letter sent today, 27 October, to Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The committee backs a request the London Fire Commissioner has already made, and has asked for a reply by 28 December 2026.
What the committee heard
The letter follows the committee’s meeting at City Hall on 15 September on the attacks, which it says targeted London’s Jewish community between March and May. The most prominent was the attack on 23 March that destroyed four frontline Hatzola ambulances providing urgent medical care in North West London. The committee also visited Finchley Road Fire Station.
Photos: supplied by London Assembly
Why the Brigade says it needs the money
The London Fire Commissioner told the committee that the national security picture facing the Brigade is “more complicated than it has ever been”. As the capital and the centre of government, London faces a level of national security risk “not seen in any other part of the country”, the letter says.
The Brigade has taken on national jobs beyond London. Patrick Goulbourne KFSM, its Assistant Commissioner for Operational Resilience and Control, told members that it advises other fire services through the National Interagency Liaison Officer (NILO) network. NILOs are security-cleared officers whom he described as “absolutely key” to the UK’s response to terrorist attacks. The Brigade alone trains NILOs for every fire and rescue service in the UK, as well as for the British Transport Police, HM Coastguard, the ambulance service and the military.
None of that brings in extra Government money. The Commissioner told the committee:
“There are particular pressures on us as the LFB, being the fire and rescue service for the capital of the UK, and we do not at the moment attract central Government funding for that responsibility. We are holding at the moment national responsibilities, not just for London, which we have to absorb in our current budget at the moment.”
The letter notes that the Commissioner and the Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and the Fire Service have also written to the Secretary of State, warning that the Brigade will need more resources in the medium and longer term.
What the committee chair said
Anne Clarke AM, who chairs the Fire Committee, said:
“Without dedicated funding, there is a risk that the LFB will be unable to continue to deliver the effective response that London’s communities, and all those who live, work or visit the capital, deserve.
“So, it seems a no-brainer to us that direct Government funding for LFB’s national security activity would recognise the additional responsibilities that LFB undertakes on behalf of the UK, as well as the unique security risks facing London as the nation’s capital.”
The committee’s formal recommendation reads: “As requested by the London Fire Commissioner, the Government should provide the London Fire Brigade with £10 million funding in 2027-28 in respect of its national security remit.”
What it means for you
The money would not go to any one station or borough: it is for the Brigade’s national security role, which the committee says is currently paid for out of the same budget that runs fire cover across London, including Barnet’s stations. The committee’s argument is that without separate funding, that response is at risk.
The request comes against a backdrop the borough knows well. Police logged 381 hate crime incidents in Barnet in April to June, 64% more than a year earlier, and Prevent referrals in the borough more than doubled over the same three months, according to the council’s Safer Communities Partnership Board.
The Government has been asked to respond by 28 December. You can watch the webcast of the committee’s 15 September meeting, follow the committee’s work on the London Assembly Fire Committee page and read the full letter.
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