Police given more time to question men arrested after threat to Islamic event

Police have been given more time to question eight men who were arrested after an alleged extreme right-wing threat to an Islamic event in Suffolk

Author: PA / Abbie ChesherPublished 52 minutes ago
Last updated 49 minutes ago

Police have been given more time to question eight men who were arrested after an alleged extreme right-wing threat to an Islamic event in Suffolk.

Head of Counter-Terrorism Policing London Commander Helen Flanagan told reporters on Tuesday that officers became aware of the threat to the UK Ijtima event over the weekend.

Thousands of people attended the gathering at Shrubland Hall near Ipswich, but it was forced to close early after advice by police.

Eight people were arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act, and warrants of further detention have now been granted to allow them to be held for up to seven days.

Three men, aged 55, 60 and 82, who were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder have been released on bail, as has a woman, 48, who was detained on suspicion of assisting an offender, Commander Flanagan said.

The eight being held under the Terrorism Act are two men aged 27 and 29 who were arrested in Surrey, two men both aged 42 held in Essex, a 27-year-old man arrested in Ipswich, and a 35-year-old man in Greater Manchester, who were all arrested on Sunday.

The remaining two men, aged 31 and 33, were held in London on Monday.

Listen to KISS, KISSTORY and KISS Xtra on our free Rayo app, by hitting the play button on the bottom of your screen and on your smart speaker (‘Play KISS FM’, ‘Play KISSTORY’, ‘Play KISS Xtra’). KISS and KISSTORY are also available on DAB.