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(Reuters) - British police said on Tuesday they had arrested five men close to a nuclear reprocessing plant in northwest England under counter-terrorism laws.
The arrests were made after Prime Minister David Cameron urged Britain to remain vigilant against potential reprisals following the killing of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by U.S. forces.
Police said they were unaware of any link between the arrests and bin Laden's death.
The men were arrested on Monday after officers conducted a stop check on a vehicle near the Sellafield site in Cumbria.
The men are all aged in their 20s and from London.
A spokesman for the police's North West Counter Terrorism Unit declined to comment on media reports the men had been filming the site.
"There were suspicions from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary that led to some arrests. There were some suspicions about them near to the perimeter fence," he said.
A police counter terrorism source said the arrests were not preplanned. "The local officers felt there was enough to arrest them. It's a case of seeing if there is anything to it."
Police held the men under section 41 of the Terrorism Act, which allows officers to arrest people suspected of terrorist offences and hold them for 48 hours without charge.
The men were being transferred to the northern English city of Manchester to be questioned by counter-terrorism officers.
Local police were alerted by officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, a specialist force which provides protection for civil nuclear licensed sites.
Fifty-two people were killed in London in 2005 when al-Qaeda inspired suicide bombers blew up underground trains and a bus.
The Sellafield site, in operation since the 1940s, includes a number of nuclear fuel reprocesssing facilities and waste treatment plants.
Sellafield is owned by Nuclear Management Partners, a consortium of American engineering company URS, British engineering firm Amec and French nuclear reactor maker Areva. It was operating as normal on Tuesday.
Counter-terror detectives have raided a string of houses after five men were arrested close to the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria. Skip related content
Sky sources said it is understood the men being held were British Asians and were taking photographs of the plant.
Four houses were raided today in east London following the arrests at about 4.30pm on Monday.
A small box containing an unknown substance was removed from one of the properties for testing.
The men were detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act after a stop check on a vehicle.
The five, all in their 20s and from London, were held overnight at a police station in Carlisle.
All were then taken to Manchester, where the investigation is being led by counter-terrorism officers.
Sky's home affairs correspondent Mark White said: "From what I understand there was nothing found on them that would give immediate cause for concern that there was any potential attack."
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the investigation was in its early stages and no further information would be released yet.
He added: "At this stage we are not aware of any connection to recent events in Pakistan."
Nonetheless, the location and timing of the incident, which came hours after news broke that Osama bin Laden had been killed by US special forces, is likely to cause concern.
The Government has urged the public to remain vigilant.
According to reports last year, a counter-terrorism review of Britain's nuclear power plants was carried out after fears arose over safety at Sellafield.
The Sellafield site - responsible for decommissioning and reprocessing nuclear waste, and fuel manufacturing - is heavily protected by private security and officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, some of whom are armed.
Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows a police officer to arrest any person who is "reasonably suspected" of being a terrorist.
3 comments:
via World Nuclear News:
They were all in their 20s from London, over 450 kilometres away [280 mile distance].
Just some harmless sightseeing.
UPDATE:
Houses Raided After Sellafield Terror Arrests
Counter-terror detectives have raided a string of houses after five men were arrested close to the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria. Skip related content
Sky sources said it is understood the men being held were British Asians and were taking photographs of the plant.
Four houses were raided today in east London following the arrests at about 4.30pm on Monday.
A small box containing an unknown substance was removed from one of the properties for testing.
The men were detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act after a stop check on a vehicle.
The five, all in their 20s and from London, were held overnight at a police station in Carlisle.
All were then taken to Manchester, where the investigation is being led by counter-terrorism officers.
Sky's home affairs correspondent Mark White said: "From what I understand there was nothing found on them that would give immediate cause for concern that there was any potential attack."
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the investigation was in its early stages and no further information would be released yet.
He added: "At this stage we are not aware of any connection to recent events in Pakistan."
Nonetheless, the location and timing of the incident, which came hours after news broke that Osama bin Laden had been killed by US special forces, is likely to cause concern.
The Government has urged the public to remain vigilant.
According to reports last year, a counter-terrorism review of Britain's nuclear power plants was carried out after fears arose over safety at Sellafield.
The Sellafield site - responsible for decommissioning and reprocessing nuclear waste, and fuel manufacturing - is heavily protected by private security and officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, some of whom are armed.
Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows a police officer to arrest any person who is "reasonably suspected" of being a terrorist.
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