Five men and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of belonging to the banned far-right terrorist group National Action.

West Midlands police said the suspects, aged between 21 and 37, had been detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act on Wednesday.

The arrests were planned and intelligence-led and there was no threat to the public’s safety, the force said.

National Action was made a proscribed terrorist organisation in December 2016, becoming the first extreme rightwing group to be outlawed in the UK.



The male suspects included a 26-year-old from Cambridge, a 21-year-old from Banbury, Oxfordshire, a 28-year-old from Wolverhampton, a 26-year-old from Leicester and a 24-year-old from Stockport.



The female suspect was a 37-year-old, also from Banbury, West Midlands police said.



All six were being held at a police station in the West Midlands.



Officers were carrying out searches at several properties in connection with the arrests.



A string of counter-terrorism units were involved in the operation, including from the West Midlands, north-west, south-east and east England.



