Britain Arrests 13 Suspected of Plotting Terrorist Acts

[papau]

We must add these to the more than 570 people that had been arrested under the Terrorism Act since September 2001 per the Home Secretary David Blunkett report. The report said 97 of those arrested had been charged and 14 convicted.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-britain4aug04.story
Britain Arrests 13 Suspected of Plotting Terrorist Acts
Police conduct raids around England. Home Office says no specific threat had been made.
By Janet Stobart Times Staff Writer August 4, 2004

LONDON — Police arrested 13 men across the country Tuesday night as part of Britain's battle against terrorism.

The men are suspected of involvement in "the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism," according to Scotland Yard. Under Britain's Terrorism Act of 2000, police can hold terrorism suspects up to a week before charging them.

The statement described the arrests, in northwest London and in southeastern and northern England, as "part of a preplanned, ongoing intelligence-led operation" conducted by anti-terrorist officers.

<snip>

Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Tony Blair came under pressure from the opposition Conservatives to clarify the terrorist threat to Britain. The demand came after a security alert in the United States this week and after documents seized from computer files of an Al Qaeda suspect arrested in Pakistan revealed potential targets.

The British Home Office said there had been no specific threat, but it called the threat of terrorism in Britain "real and serious," the BBC reported Tuesday. <snip>

[arwalden]

1. "Round Up The Usual Suspects"