Fifth arrest in 'plot to kill PM'

Published on Wednesday 27 August 2008 21:52

COUNTER-terrorism police investigating an alleged plot to assassinate the Prime Minister were last night searching the house of the latest suspect.

Detectives arrested the 29-year-old man – the fifth suspect – on Tuesday at a terraced house in the Normanton area of Derby under the Terrorism Act 2000. All five men are being questioned.

Three men, aged 21, 22 and 23 were arrested at Manchester airport and Accrington on 14 August, while a fourth man, aged 24, was detained in Blackburn on Tuesday. He is understood to be a white Muslim convert. Police sources said officers were investigating threats to kill Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister.

It is understood that no actual plot was in place, but that officers discovered a written threat on an extremist website earlier this year.

Fareed Hussain, a member of the Derby Muslim Forum and the city's council, appealed for calm following the latest arrest.

He said: "The community reaction is going to be that of surprise, but from what I know of the details, he is not known to have any connection with the Muslim community in Derby.

"I don't know his name; we haven't got that far, other than the fact that he is eastern European," he said. "He is not Asian or an Arab.

"It's down to the community to pull together as a result of what has happened, and to work with each other to make sure that any extremists are weeded out of the community," Mr Hussain said.