Police Probe Manchester Synagogue Attacker's Alleged Death Threats to MP

Counterterrorism police are investigating whether Jihad Al-Shamie, the attacker who killed two people in a terror attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, previously sent death threats to Conservative MP John Howell over his support for Israel. In 2012, Howell received threatening emails from someone named "Jihad Alshamie," who said, "It is people like you who deserve to die," after Howell defended Israel's right to protect itself amid rocket fire. Authorities are working to determine if the synagogue attacker and the email sender are the same person, with the threatening emails now part of the broader police investigation. Howell, who served as MP for Henley until 2024, was forced to remove office details from his website and was offered police protection due to fears for his safety. The attacker, a British citizen of Syrian descent who came to the UK as a child, was shot dead by police after the attack, during which he wore a fake suicide vest. The incident has prompted a wider counterterrorism investigation, including the arrest of three individuals on suspicion of terrorism-related offenses.