Leeds City Council’s message to Muslim community after Manchester mosque arrest

Two men have been arrested in the north west after reports of a man armed with an axe entering a place of worship during Ramadan prayers on Tuesday (February 24). Originally, just one man was arrested, but a second has now been taken into custody.

Following the news, councillor James Lewis, the leader of the council and the executive member for communities, customer service, and community safety, councillor Asghar Khan, have issued a joint statement of reassurance to the city’s Muslim community.

In the statement, they said: “We understand any incident in a mosque will be of great concern to Muslim communities across Leeds, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.

“We have spoken to senior police colleagues and have been reassured that dedicated resources have been allocated to patrol mosques and faith sites across the city. Each neighbourhood policing area is providing a dedicated uniformed officer in a marked vehicle to patrol sites within their respective Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) areas.

“From a community intelligence perspective, police colleagues are also encouraging the reporting of any suspicious or concerning activity. This will be logged and be reviewed daily by the on-duty NPT Inspector.

“Please be assured that this is being taken extremely seriously across the city and we remain fully supportive of all our communities.”

Police were called to Manchester Central Mosque on Tuesday evening after reports that a man had entered who was later found to have been carrying multiple weapons, including a hammer and an axe.

A white man in his 50s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and class B drugs. Greater Manchester Police had been continuing to search for a black male who was reported as acting suspiciously in the mosque at the same time.

On Thursday (February 26), a force spokesman said a man in his 20s had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a section 18 assault.

The first suspect remains in custody and a warrant of further detention has been obtained to allow detectives additional time to question him, police said.

The force said there was no intelligence to suggest the incident posed a wider threat to the community and officers were not looking for further suspects.

Assistant Chief Constable John Webster said on Thursday: “Our investigation has been working at pace, leading to us making an arrest for the outstanding man this morning. Detectives will be conducting interviews with him today.

“We continue to take this incident seriously and have been granted extra time by the courts to question the first man, so we can thoroughly explore all possible lines of inquiry into the circumstances.”

Speaking on Wednesday (February 25), chairman of the mosque Hamad Khan said a man wearing a hi-vis jacket had entered the mosque at about 8.30pm when approximately 1,500 people were saying Ramadan prayers.

He was ushered into an office and police were called after an axe was spotted in his bag, he said.

Mr Khan added that he had asked for an increased police presence around all the local mosques after a rise in hate mail and threats. He said: “I stressed, prior to the month of Ramadan, we needed police presence because prayers go on to late at night.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “concerned” to hear of the incident. He said: “I know this will be worrying for Muslim communities, especially during Ramadan, a time of peace and reflection.”