5 men arrested for terror threat aginst Pope - PakPassion

Iqbilla

Five men have been arrested in London by the Metropolitan Police in relation to a potential threat to Pope Benedict XVI's visit.

The arrests were made at 0545 BST at addresses in London after counter-terrorism officers received intelligence of a potential threat.

The five men have been taken to a central London police station.

Officers are continuing searches at premises connected to the raids. The men are not British nationals.

Earlier, the Pope attended an assembly of children at a Catholic college in west London.

In a statement from Scotland Yard, the Metropolitan Police said that the five men had been arrested in an operation launched by officers from the force's Counter-Terrorism Command.

The five were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Ongoing search

The five men are 26, 27, 36, 40 and 50 years old. They were arrested in an armed operation at business premises where searches are continuing.

Continue reading the main story
POPE'S ITINERY IN LONDON
Event with religious leaders at Twickenham Friday morning
Resting at Vatican residence, London
1600: Lambeth Palace for historic meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury
1810: Evening prayer, Westminster Cathedral
Residential premises in north and east London are also being searched. Officers have not found any hazardous items.

It is not clear whether the investigations relate to a plot against the Pope himself or an element of the visit.

In the statement, the force said: "Today's arrests were made after police received information following initial inquiries by detectives. A decision was made to arrest the five men.

"Following today's arrests policing arrangements for the papal visit were reviewed and we are satisfied our current policing plan remains appropriate. The itinerary has not changed. There is no change to the UK threat level."

Policing bill
The UK's top police officers from England and Scotland spent months planning the security arrangements for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the UK.

Those plans included threat assessments, standard arrangements covering the safe transport of significant public figures and the potential need to control crowds during the visit's major events.

In all, the policing bill for the visit is expected to top £1m.

Reacting to the development, Father Frederico Lombardi, the Pope's press spokesman, said the Vatican was "totally confident" in Scotland Yard and the ability of its officers.

The papal team had no direct information about the police operation. The Pope remained calm and had been welcomed warmly everywhere he had gone, he said.

"The police have already said that the information demonstrated that there is no need to change the programme," he said.

The BBC's Emily Buchanan, who was with the Pope at his visit to an assembly of children at a Catholic college in west London, described the security around the Pope as "extremely high... with no lapses".

pakistani_banda

what is this potential threat???

Braveheart

Have the 'A' , 'I' , 'P' or 'M' words been mentioned as to their origins and affiliations ?
or are we going to get a reprieve this time?

Amoeba

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braveheart

Have the 'A' , 'I' , 'P' or 'M' words been mentioned as to their origins and affiliations ?
or are we going to get a reprieve this time?

Alergians according to Sky so sure those words will pop up. I am just hoping it is some renegade anti child abuse catholic protest group!

Radiance Of Australis

Quote:

Originally Posted by Braveheart

Have the 'A' , 'I' , 'P' or 'M' words been mentioned as to their origins and affiliations ?
or are we going to get a reprieve this time?

What?

Braveheart

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Sixer

What?

Al-Qaeeda
Islamics
Pakistani
Muslims

Oxy

What are the odds that they will be released with no charge - like virtually every other high-profile arrest the UK police have made in the last 9 years?

sporticus

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxy

What are the odds that they will be released with no charge - like virtually every other high-profile arrest the UK police have made in the last 9 years?

Whats the odds sooner or later a bunch of murdering scum will escape detection and kill lots of people .Then you will be saying the Police allowed them to do it to make muslims look bad .Cant win

Gabbar Singh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxy

What are the odds that they will be released with no charge - like virtually every other high-profile arrest the UK police have made in the last 9 years?

The arrest to conviction rate for terror related offences in the UK since 2001 is around 1 in 10. This is only marginally lower than the rate for overall arrests and it's actually higher than certain offences like rape.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...onviction.html

The victimisation argument here just doesn't wash.

Oxy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabbar Singh

The arrest to conviction rate for terror related offences in the UK since 2001 is around 1 in 10. This is only marginally lower than the rate for overall arrests and it's actually higher than certain offences like rape.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...onviction.html

The victimisation argument here just doesn't wash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sporticus

Whats the odds sooner or later a bunch of murdering scum will escape detection and kill lots of people .Then you will be saying the Police allowed them to do it to make muslims look bad .Cant win

I specifically stated 'high-profile' arrests - the ones that were given days of airplay on the news, and in the newspapers - then resulted in unconditional discharges.

defender

Quote:

Police release 'Pope threat' men without charge
A police officer outside a depot of Westminster cleaning contractors Veolia Five of the men were arrested at Veolia's Chiltern Street depot in west London

Six men arrested by police investigating an alleged plot to attack the Pope have all been released without charge, Scotland Yard said.

The six - who work as street cleaners in Westminster - were arrested after they were allegedly overheard in the works canteen discussing an attack.

Police refused to confirm reports that the men were joking, saying they had a duty to investigate.

Policing for Pope Benedict's four-day UK visit is expected to top £1m.

The men are employed by Veolia Environment Services, a cleaning company contracted by Westminster Council.

At least five of the men are not British nationals. Most are thought to be Algerian.

The men, aged between 26 and 50, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism on Friday, and released late on Saturday and early on Sunday.

Threat level

Armed officers arrested the first five men at the company's Chiltern Street depot in west London as they were preparing to go on shift. A sixth man was later taken into custody.

Police officers searched eight homes in north and east London and two business premises in central London, including a street cleaning depot.

Searches of the premises were completed and had not revealed any weapons or suspicious materials.

In the statement, the Metropolitan Police said policing arrangements for the papal visit were reviewed following the arrests, and that police were satisfied that the current policing plan for the Pope's visit remained appropriate.

"The itinerary has not changed. There is no change to the UK threat level," the statement added.

The current official threat level in the UK is "severe", which means that security chiefs believe a terror attack is "highly likely".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11360568

you can't even joke these days

muzher

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxy

What are the odds that they will be released with no charge - like virtually every other high-profile arrest the UK police have made in the last 9 years?

Yup...