Armed police arrest 31-year-old at south London shop in detention officers say is linked to alleged Islamist terrorism

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Armed police have arrested a man at a south London shop over alleged links to terrorism.

The suspect, 31, was arrested just after 5pm on Tuesday evening and detained “on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

The arrest was planned and followed a joint investigation by Scotland Yard’s terrorism command and MI5.

Detectives are investigating if the man had links or had been influenced by Isis as part of their inquiries, and police said the arrest was being linked to Islamist terrorism.

Police said no weapons had been found and their officers had fired no shots.

The investigation is at an early stage and police do not believe any intentions were advanced nor that they had thwarted planning for an imminent attack. They do not believe, for instance, he was in the process of acquiring materials that could be used for a terrorist attack when he was arrested.

Police said they were searching a residential address in south London. They were not expecting to find explosive materials or other linked materials. The man was in custody at a central London police station, where he would be questioned further.

Counter-terror investigators in both the police and MI5 have been facing a heavy workload as they assess and investigate potential threats from people with connections to several troubled and unstable areas around the world, but predominantly linked to Isis.

Arrests under terrorism legislation mean an individual has come under suspicion, but that may prove unfounded. Of 289 people arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related offences in 2014, just 102 were charged, according to figures from the Royal United Services Institute, prepared for Sky News.

The security thinktank said while for criminal offences generally 58% of arrests lead to a charge, for terrorism offences only 35% of arrests do.

The fear of a terrorist attack being carried out by people with connections to or inspired by Isis led the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre to recommend raising the threat level in August 2014 to severe, its second highest level.





