Jewish attack victim 'no longer feels safe in UK'

A survivor of the Manchester synagogue attack has said he does not feel safe in the UK after discovering he could have been caught up in another plot to kill.

Yoni Finlay was shot by a stray police bullet as he barricaded the doors of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue during a deadly attack in which two people were killed in October 2025.

The 40-year-old had feared for some time that an attack like this could unfold on the streets where he had grown up.

"You fear somebody is going to attack us and that's why we have the security that we do and they do a great job but there's always a chance of something happening," he said.

But unbeknownst to him, Finlay could have been caught up in an earlier attack if the plot had not been foiled by an undercover police operative.

The men had arranged for guns to be smuggled into the UK as part of an "Isis-inspired plot".

Prosecutors said the men planned to launch a gun assault on a march against antisemitism by the end of summer 2024, and then head to north Manchester to kill more Jews.

In one message, Saadaoui said: "Here in Manchester we have the biggest Jewish community [outside of London].

"We will carry out here."

The next day, he took the undercover operative to areas where Jewish communities live in Manchester - this time to identify specific targets he wanted to attack after targeting a march.

Finlay was among the thousands of people who attended a march against antisemitism in Manchester in the summer of 2024.

At the time, he and his fellow marchers were completely unaware that a plan had been foiled, potentially targeting that event.

He only found out when he returned home from hospital after being shot.

"I think for everybody there was an element of it was going to happen because antisemitism has been allowed to grow and fester and become normalised," Finlay said.

There had been a similar march earlier in 2024 in January, which Finlay had also attended.

"There's an undercurrent of hate, there's an undercurrent of antisemitism, an undercurrent of we don't want you here," he said.

"That's very difficult to live with on a day-to-day basis.

"My son won't walk down the street wearing a kippah in case he's identified as Jewish, he has had threats, he has had things shouted at him.

"I am a Mancunian. I've lived here my entire life.

"I'm a Manchester United fan, always have been, so this is where I feel I belong but at the same time it's not safe for us."

But despite this, Finlay said he was determined to not let these fears dictate his life.

"I think it's important to not allow terrorism, to not allow hatred to win," he said.

Saadaoui and Hussein were sentenced to life with a minimum term of 37 and 26 years respectively after being found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December 2023 and 9 May 2024.

A third man, Saadaoui's younger brother Bilel Saadaoui, 36, was also convicted of failing to disclose information about acts of terrorism and was sentenced to six years.