Counterterrorism authorities are currently probing potential death threats made by Jihad Al-Shamie, the suspected synagogue assailant, towards a Member of Parliament due to the MP’s stance on Israel. The MP in question, John Howell, reportedly received menacing emails following his vocal support for Israel’s right to self-defense.
One of the communications, attributed to someone named “Jihad Alshamie,” contained a chilling message stating, “It is people like you who deserve to die.” However, it remains uncertain whether this individual is the same as the attacker. Former MP John Howell, who represented Henley from 2008 to 2024, was offered police protection and opted to remove the contact details of his local office from his website.
Reflecting on the threats, Mr. Howell emphasized the seriousness of such messages, stating, “The last thing I want to appear as is a drama queen, but you have to take seriously a threat when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead.’ It is not just a question of me, it is my family and my staff. All it takes is one person out there who is eccentric, with a distorted view of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.”
Commending the efforts of Thames Valley Police for providing him with robust security guidance, Mr. Howell expressed gratitude, noting that if he ever felt unsafe, police presence could be arranged during his public engagements.
In a recent TV appearance, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated that Al-Shamie was not actively under investigation by counterterrorism authorities or security services and had not been referred to Prevent, the UK government’s counter-terrorism program.