Fire was set to St John the Evangelist church in Enfield. Forty firefighters were needed to extinguish the fire. It has been confirmed by the police that this was an arson attack. The fire started by the high altar and damaged stained-glass windows and artefacts.
The church has reported "extensive" damage and has announced that the church service had to be moved to the parish centre. The church is known for its community outreach and work with refugees.
Furthermore, the local female vicar had suffered sexist harassment by one of the suspects during church services in the weeks before the fire on New Year’s Day. It has however not been confirmed by the police whether the harassment and the fire arson are linked.