Shafaqna English- Mosques and related Muslim community sites across the UK received a record £66 million in emergency security funding after violent disorder spread in the aftermath of the 2024 Southport attack, according to exclusive figures obtained by the Guardian.
The Guardian’s figures also show that about £41 million in security funding was issued to mosques and related sites in the year to April 2026 under the government’s protective security scheme, another record.
The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show that security funding for mosques, Islamic faith schools and associated sites rose from £73,147 in 2016-17 to about £3 million in 2022-23.
It then increased sharply to £29 million in 2024-25 and reached a record £41 million in 2025-26.
The emergency scheme was introduced after violent disorder spread across UK cities following the Southport knife attack, in which three girls killed. The unrest was fueled by false online claims that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker, and mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers were targeted during the ensuing violence.
Of almost £69 million distributed to places of worship under the emergency scheme, about £66 million went to mosques and associated sites, the figures obtained by the Guardian show.
The British Muslim Trust, the government’s partner for monitoring anti-Muslim hatred, said the figures reflected a rise in hostility faced by British Muslims. Its chief executive, Akeela Ahmed, said growing security needs were a direct response to increased attacks on mosques.
The trust published data in July showing that one mosque was attacked every five days across Britain in the past year.
Source: The Guardian