The number of antisemitic hate crimes recorded in April in London was the highest in two years, data has revealed, as the Metropolitan police commit to deploying 100 extra officers to protect Jewish communities. The force says a “community protection team” will be set up, combining neighbourhood policing with counter-terrorism capabilities, as British Jews face “some of the highest levels of hate crime alongside significant terrorist and hostile state threats”. The Metropolitan police logged 140 offences last month, up from 98 in March and 67 in February. April’s total is the highest monthly figure since the force changed the way it counts hate crime in March 2024. Of the 140 incidents in London in April, 51 (36%) occurred in Barnet, the north London borough that includes Golders Green, Hendon and Finchley, which have large Jewish populations.…