VOA photo.
London: Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday announced a 10-million-pound boost to security funding for the UK's mosques and Muslim faith centres to protect them from hate crime and attacks, reports PTI.
The additional investment into the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme is aimed at providing security measures such as CCTV, alarm systems, secure fencing, and security personnel services.
The scheme was created to protect mosques, Muslim community centres, and Muslim faith schools that have experienced or are vulnerable to hate crime.
“Britain is a proud and tolerant country. Attacks on any community are attacks on our entire nation and our values," said Starmer.
“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 said.
The most recent official statistics revealed that anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by 19 per cent in the year ending March 2025, and 44 per cent of all religious hate crimes targeted Muslims. The funding boost follows Starmer's visit to Peacehaven Mosque in East Sussex, which was targeted in an arson attack earlier this month.
“The attack on the Peacehaven Mosque was an appalling crime that could easily have led to an even more devastating outcome," said UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
“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 said.
The additional 10-million-pound funding is intended to ensure more sites can be protected, building on the 29.4 million pounds already available for this year towards the protection of mosques and Muslim faith schools under the government-backed protection scheme.
Akeela Ahmed, CEO of the British Muslim Trust, welcomed the move because she said too 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”.
"We welcome the announcement of this funding, which will play a key role in helping members of Britain's Muslim communities feel the safety and reassurance they need and deserve,” she said.