'Terror plot' police search new property

Published on Friday 10 April 2009 13:37

POLICE investigating an alleged al Qaida terror plot in north west England were today searching an additional address.

Eleven Pakistani nationals and one UK-born Briton were still being questioned at various locations in the UK in connection with the alleged plot.

The additional address being searched by counter-terrorism officers is in Liverpool, close to where some of the suspects were arrested.

The men, ten of whom hold student visas, can be detained for up to 28 days.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: "Twelve suspects remain in custody in various locations across the country.

"A further address on Highgate Street, Liverpool, is also being searched, bringing the total number of addresses being searched to ten."

The police statement came as Downing Street revealed that the Prime Minister had spoken with the President of Pakistan about the threat from terrorism.

The talks were held amid concern about the number of suspects who had come to the UK from Pakistan on student visas.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke by telephone last night.

"They agreed that the UK and Pakistan share a serious threat from terrorism and violent extremism, and committed to work together to address this common challenge."

However, Pakistan's High Commissioner to the UK said last night that not enough was being done by the British authorities to carry out security checks on foreign students coming to the UK.

Wajid Shamsul Hasan said the Pakistani authorities could help carry out background checks on student visa applicants but were not allowed to.

He said: "It is at your end you have to do something more. Every day we are raiding people, we are arresting people, we are arresting suspects wherever we find them."