The suspects - aged 47 and 45 - were arrested on Wednesday morning at addresses in the north west London and central London areas respectively.

They were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and both men have been taken to a London police station where they currently remain in police custody.

Officers are carrying out searches at the two addresses, understood to be in areas near Kilburn and Kings Cross.

The arrests are linked to the ongoing investigation into an arson attack on four ambulances run by Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer-led service, at around 1.35am on Monday.

Metropolitan Police said CCTV footage showed three hooded individuals pouring accelerant on the parked vehicles adding that the investigation "very much remains active".

The fire happened right next to the Machzike Hadath Synagogue, in Golders Green, north London, where the ambulances were parked.

Residents reported being woken in the early hours by loud bangs after gas canisters stored in the ambulances exploded. The force of the explosions blew out windows, including those of the synagogue, and nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution.

Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, which is leading the investigation, said: "We have been working around the clock since this appalling attack took place and this has led to these arrests being made this morning.

"This appears to be an important breakthrough in the investigation, but we're also mindful that CCTV footage of the incident suggests there were at least three people involved.

"We fully recognise the local community will still be concerned and our investigation very much remains active and we will continue to work to identify and seek to arrest all of those who may have been involved.

"I'd like to thank the public and particularly the local Jewish community in the area for their continued support and reiterate our appeal to anyone who might have information that could assist with the investigation to get in touch with us."

The Community Security Trust, a charity created to provide security to the Jewish community, welcomed the arrests, saying in a statement: "We are grateful to the officers who have worked tirelessly to find those accountable.

"While this development is an important step forward, we know the community will understandably remain concerned.

"Police security measures and CST's own security operations will therefore remain at their current high level, with continued strong cooperation between CST and the police to protect our community."

Islamist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (HAYI) has claimed responsibility online for the attack, which police have said is so far being treated as an antisemitic hate crime rather than a terror attack.

The newly formed group is believed to be aligned with Iran and appears to have posted a video on Telegram showing a map of the location of the attack and the ambulances on fire.

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The Metropolitan Police said earlier this week that detectives were aware of the claim of responsibility and were working to determine its authenticity.

Blunt, the MP for Reigate in Surrey between 1997 and 2024, admitted four counts of possessing drugs, including crystal meth, at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

He has been fined £1200 with a £480 victim surcharge and £200 costs.

Blunt, a justice minister in the Cameron administration between 2010 and 2012, made a 30 minute speech during which he told the court he should never have faced criminal charges.

He said he had considered taking the case to a jury trial, to argue that he should be acquitted on the basis that the charges of possession of drugs should not exist.

His house in Horley, Surrey, was raided by police in October 2023 in relation to separate allegations of rape, which were later dropped.

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Blunt told the court on Wednesday that possession of drugs charges against a first-time offender usually end with an out-of-court caution, and hinted at a belief that his political views on drugs reform, trans rights, and support for Palestinians may lie behind the case brought against him.

He also suggested former prime minister Rishi Sunak was "complicit in war crimes" over his support for Israel after the October 7 atrocity.

Prosecutor Zarah Dickinson told the court: "It was the first time he had come out as a gay man, and during his ministerial role he saw first hand the harm caused by the government's drug policy."

She added: "He began to take a professional interest in a policy that inflicted lasting harm on society.

"Then he began his involving in the chemsex scene.

"His knowledge of first hand use of drugs was used to inform how policies could be implemented."

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According to Ms Dickinson, Blunt was "polite" and "calm" when his house was raided - and pointed out the drugs to officers.

During his interview, Blunt explained how he would host chemsex parties and how the use of GBL would be limited to once per hour.

Dickinson said crystal meth worth between £200 and £250 was found on Blunt's bedside, as well as around £200 of GBL in a syringe in a laptop bag.

Cannabis worth less than £10 was also found, alongside weighing scales with residue from powders on them.

Ms Dickinson said the investigation began following "offences alleged to have occurred during a chemsex party at Mr Blunt's home address in September 2023".

The 65-year-old pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing drugs - one count of class A and three of class B - at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

The drugs he admitted having were the sedative GBL, alongside cannabis, methamphetamine and methylamphetamine - the last of which is currently known as crystal meth.

Blunt told Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram on Wednesday that he believes politicians have failed to properly consider drug policy reform.

They have "sat with moral simplicity that drugs are bad, they are banned, without regard to the appalling consequences of that simple position", he said. "It keeps politicians safe on the moral high ground."

Following the raid on his house in 2023, Blunt announced he would not be standing in the 2024 general election.

Paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane killed undergraduate students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, both 19, in the early hours of 13 June 2023 before fatally stabbing caretaker Ian Coates, 65, more than an hour later.

After stealing Mr Coates' van, Calocane ran over and seriously injured three pedestrians. Calocane admitted manslaughter and attempted murder and was indefinitely detained at a high-security hospital on the grounds of diminished responsibility in January 2024.

Mr Webber's parents, Emma and David Webber, told an inquiry into the attacks that they were in a "state of shock" at learning Calocane would not be prosecuted for murder.

Mrs Webber said: "It was a Teams meeting. I can remember seeing Sanjoy's [Ms O'Malley-Kumar's father] face… when they announced that the decision seemed to have been made to accept a diminished responsibility plea of manslaughter.

"I saw Sanjoy's face - the reaction and the, I suppose, unfolding horror.

"And in my head… it was like a ringing. I could just hear the word manslaughter and that's the first time that that had even entered my head."

The student's father said the bereaved families had no opportunity to discuss the issue of diminished responsibility before the decision was made not to proceed with murder charges.

"It's a bit of a state of shock because you've set yourself up - this is what we're doing. It's three counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder," he said.

"Then all of a sudden it's a complete U-turn."

He added: "And we've had no chance to discuss it with them and to go into detail as to how they got to their decision."

Mrs Webber told the inquiry that the decision was not acceptable to them and arranged a meeting with Alex Chalk KC, the then secretary of state for justice, in December 2023.

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"We had been very much led to believe the murderer of our child was going to be done for murder and, at the 11th hour, that was turned into a manslaughter plea," she said.

"You just know something is wrong and I knew something was wrong and that I needed to do anything and everything possible to understand.

"If you want answers you have to go to the top. We were desperately trying to speak to someone who could help us."

The inquiry continues.

He replaces outgoing boss Tim Davie, who announced his resignation in November after five years in the role, following criticism over the editing ⁠of a Panorama video ​clip of US President Donald Trump.

Samir Shah, chairman of the BBC Board, said the new appointment comes as the "stakes have never been higher" for the broadcaster, but members believe they have chosen the right person to lead the organisation.

"Now, more than ever, we need a thriving BBC that works for everyone in a complex, uncertain and fast changing world," Mr Brittin, 57, said in a statement.

"At its best, it shows us, and the world, who we are. It's an extraordinary, uniquely British asset, with over 100 years of innovation in storytelling, technology and powering creativity."

Mr Davie will leave the BBC next week, with Rhodri Talfan Davies, the broadcaster's director of nations, leading in the interim period before Mr Brittin takes over on 18 May.

The new director-general intends to appoint a deputy, the corporation said. He will have a salary of £565,000.

He takes on the role during a turbulent time for the broadcaster as it faces a multibillion-dollar lawsuit from Mr Trump over the Panorama edit, as well as the fallout over a racial slur being aired during the BAFTAs in February.

Mr Brittin said he would join the organisation "with humility, to listen, to learn, to lead, and to serve the public, working hard to earn their trust every day".

He added: "This is a moment of real risk, yet also real opportunity."

The director-general of the BBC is the broadcaster's chief executive officer and editor-in-chief, responsible for creative, editorial and operational leadership.

The appointment of a leader with a big tech background, rather than someone with TV production and broadcasting experience, marks a shift for the corporation in terms of skill set.

Some staff and commentators had been hoping for a different kind of change - to see the first female director-general in the corporation's history.

But Mr Brittin's announcement had become widely expected after reports he was approved by the BBC board at a meeting last week.

Critical period for BBC

BBC chairman Mr Shah described the new boss as "an outstanding leader" who has the skills needed to "navigate the organisation through the many changes taking place in the media market and in audience behaviours".

He added: "Matt's passion for the BBC, his understanding of the challenges facing the organisation, his commitment to its independence and his determination to maintain the BBC's position as one of the country's greatest national assets were critical factors in the board's decision to appoint him as the 18th director-general."

The new appointment comes at a critical time, he said, with the government reviewing the current BBC Royal Charter, which expires at the end of 2027.

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"It is clear there is need for radical reform of the BBC, its funding model and the framework in which it operates. The stakes for the BBC, and the future of public service broadcasting, have never been higher.

"The board and I believe Matt is the right person to lead the BBC as it fights for a sustainable future in an uncertain world, for the benefit of audiences and the UK."

The chairwoman of the culture, media and sport committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, congratulated Mr Brittin on his appointment - but said he would have a "significant job on his hands navigating [the BBC] out of a period of turbulence and through a charter review process that will define its purpose and standing beyond the next decade".

Noah Sibanda, who was 14 months old, died at Fairytales Day Nursery in Bourne Street, Dudley, in December 2022.

Events leading up to his death, which were captured on the nursery's CCTV, showed that he had been restrained face down on a cushion while tightly wrapped in a sleeping bag.

A blanket had been put over his head, and he was laid face down to sleep with a leg placed over him by nursery worker Kimberley Cookson.

She held him there, restraining him with her leg for some of that time, in what appeared to be an effort to "make him sleep when he did not want to".

It was then noticed that he was not breathing, and the emergency services were called. Noah was declared dead at hospital.

The private nursery, which is no longer in operation, admitted corporate manslaughter and an offence against the Health and Safety at Work Act at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday.

Owner and director Deborah Latewood, 55, who accepted that she did not know children were being put down to sleep in such a dangerous way, but should have, pleaded guilty to a Health and Safety at Work Act offence.

Cookson, 23, previously admitted gross negligence manslaughter at the same court over how she made Noah sleep.

Alex Johnson, senior specialist prosecutor within the CPS's Special Crime Division, called the case "deeply distressing", saying it represents "every parent's worst nightmare whenever they leave their young child at a nursery".

Mr Johnson said Noah "should have been safe in the care of professionals entrusted with his wellbeing".

"He lost his life as a result of reckless and dangerous sleeping practices which posed an obvious and serious risk of harm," said Mr Johnson.

"The evidence in this case, including CCTV footage and expert medical findings, showed that Noah was placed to sleep in a way that severely restricted his ability to breathe and move."

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These practices "created a suffocating environment, from which a young child was clearly unable to escape, added Mr Johnson.

He went on: "Fairytales Day Nursery Limited has now accepted criminal responsibility for the systemic failures that led to this tragedy, and Deborah Latewood has also acknowledged that the failings occurred under her management and oversight.

"Kimberley Cookson has also taken responsibility for her harmful actions.

"Nursery providers have a fundamental duty to protect the children in their care. This case underscores the devastating consequences of what happens when that duty is breached. Our thoughts remain with Noah's family, who have endured an unimaginable loss."

Latewood and the nursery were expected to face a trial in April, but new pleas were entered. The defendants will be sentenced on 16 April.