The Prime Minister confirmed the additional funding for CCTV, alarms, and protective fencing after a mosque in East Sussex was targeted in an arson attack, as anti-Muslim incidents hit record highs.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a significant EUR 10 million increase in security funding for mosques and Muslim faith centres across the UK, aimed at protecting communities vulnerable to hate crime and attack.
The investment will be channeled into the existing Protective Security for Mosques Scheme, enabling more sites to benefit from measures such as CCTV surveillance, advanced alarm systems, secure fencing, and security personnel services. This sum supplements the EUR 29.4 million already allocated for mosque and faith school protection this year.
The announcement follows a visit by the Prime Minister to Peacehaven Mosque in East Sussex, which was the target of an arson attack earlier this month.
“Britain is a proud and tolerant country. Attacks on any community are attacks on our entire nation and our values,” said Prime Minister Starmer, emphasizing the government’s commitment to delivering safer streets for all.
“This funding will provide Muslim communities with the protection they need and deserve, allowing them to live in peace and safety. I want a Britain built for all and my government is committed to delivering safer streets for everyone – and that means protecting places of worship from those who seek to divide us through hate and violence,” he added.
Response to Statistical Spike
The funding boost is a direct response to worrying official statistics that show a sharp rise in anti-Muslim hate crime. Data for the year ending March 2025 revealed that anti-Muslim hate crimes surged by 19 per cent, making up 44 per cent of all religious hate crimes recorded nationally.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the specific incident that prompted the visit. “The attack on the Peacehaven Mosque was an appalling crime that could easily have led to an even more devastating outcome,” she said.
Mahmood underscored the government’s duty to uphold fundamental rights. “I am proud of this country because of the rights we all have to follow the faith of our choosing, and to live free from hatred and fear. That right must be defended. Violence and intimidation directed at any community or faith are attacks on us all. We must stand together against those who seek to divide us,” she stated.
The move was immediately welcomed by community leaders. Akeela Ahmed, CEO of the British Muslim Trust, noted that many members of Britain’s Muslim communities have become “fearful and apprehensive as their mosques, places dedicated to faith, love and peace, have been vandalised, set on fire and worshippers abused and assaulted.”
Ahmed concluded that the new funding “will play a key role in helping members of Britain’s Muslim communities feel the safety and reassurance they need and deserve.”
