London | Tuesday seemed like another normal day in Stamford Hill, the communal heart of orthodox Judaism in London. Young, black-clad women, often in groups of two, pushed strollers along the thoroughfares, while Hasidic men occasionally stopped to exchange pleasantries in Yiddish.

There was no sign of the increased police presence reported in the media, although some Jewish community buildings – a school, a community centre, a place of worship – had a security guard stationed out front.