The British Police on Monday arrested 12 people as part of an “extreme right-wing terrorism-related” investigation, which allegedly posed a threat to an Islamic event that took place in Suffolk over the weekend.
The counter terrorism policing (CTP) in London said that as a precaution and in view of the concerns over a possible threat, the organisers were asked to close the event slightly earlier than planned.
The ages of those arrested range from a 27-year-old to a 60-year-old, according to the Metropolitan Police. The people arrested included a 27-year-old man in Ipswich, a 35-year-old man in Greater Manchester, two 42-year-old men in Essex and five men in Surrey, aged 27, 29, 55, 60 and 82 on 12 July. A 33-year-old man in southeast London and a 31-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman in east London were arrested on 13 July. However, the police said they do not believe there is a wider threat to the public.
What do we know about the event?
The UK Ijtima event, which was at a potential risk, was held at Shrubland Hall, Suffolk over the weekend (July 9-12).
“The situation was declared a major incident early on Sunday morning with a multi-agency response convened to ensure a safe and properly co-ordinated departure from the event of the 15,000 attendees,” assistant chief constable from Suffolk constabulary Alice Scott said.
The event, attended by 15,000 people, was held at a country house in Suffolk, eastern England, and went ahead as expected. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter terrorism policing in London, thanked the event organisers and the public who were affected.
““I know this news may be concerning to the public and particularly those in the Muslim community, given that we believe the intended target was an Islamic event. But as we have shown, we will not hesitate to act if there is any potential threat, no matter who or what the potential target may be,” Flanagan said.
How did the police UK act to address threat?
Flanagan said that after becoming aware of the potential serious threat towards the Islamic event in Suffolk, the police “moved extremely quickly” and made a number of arrests in various locations across UK.
“I would like to thank colleagues in Suffolk Police for their ongoing support, which led to the declaration of a major incident on Sunday in response to this,” Flanagan said.
According to the Metropolitan Police, eight of the 12 suspects have been arrested and detained under section 41 of the UK Terrorism Act, 2000 and remained in police custody. Three others were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, and a woman was held on uspicion of assisting an offender. Among the three arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder, one was released on bail. The other two and the woman charged with assisting an offender remain in police custody.
