Local council and police leaders have written an open letter to members of Stamford Hill’s Orthodox Jewish community, urging them to stay away from illegal weddings while reassuring them of protection against antisemitism. 

The family who hosted a wedding at the Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls High School which was broken up by police were fined £10,000, the letter reveals, while police were “investigating the company who organised the event and those who may have assisted them”. 

It has been sent by the Borough Commander of Hackney, Detective Superintendent Marcus Barnett, Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville and City of London and Hackney Director of Public Health Dr Sandra Husbands. 

They said they had written because they knew that the “illegal wedding” at the school and “the resulting media coverage has caused a great deal of distress and concern to many people in the Charedi community”.  

Warning of the risk of coronavirus and mentioning the 355 deaths from the disease in the North London borough, they said police would “not hesitate to impose further such fines should similar events occur”. 

Everyone in the community was urged “to stay away” from such events. 

They said they appreciated “that the high profile nature of this incident has made many people in the community feel vulnerable and exposed. We would like to reassure you that Hackney Council and the Police are committed to protecting the community in Stamford Hill from anti-semitism and that you can, and should, report any incidents of abuse or hate crime with absolute confidence”. 

They said it was “great news” that so many in Stamford Hill were taking up the Covid-19 vaccine. 

They added,  “We know that there are major festivals coming up in the community, with Purim next month, and Pesach in March. It is very unlikely that those will be able to be celebrated in the usual way, but please be assured that we will work closely with our community partners to provide you with the best possible advice on how to observe those special days whilst keeping yourselves and your families safe.”