Four held in Birmingham terror arrests in probe linked to Paris and Brussels attacks

Four people have been arrested in Birmingham by anti-terror police as part of a probe linked to the Paris and Brussels attacks.

Three men, aged 26, 40 and 59, and a 29-year-old woman were arrested in Birmingham on Thursday night. Another man, 26, was detained at Gatwick Airport early on Friday morning.
They were being questioned on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

West Midlands Police assistant chief constable Marcus Beale confirmed the arrests were part of an international investigation concerning the "associated threat" to Britain after the Paris and Brussels outrages.

The arrests followed "recent arrests in Europe", the force separately confirmed.
He said: "This action forms part of an extensive investigation by West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, together with the wider counter terrorism network, MI5 and international partners including Belgian and French authorities to address any associated threat to the UK following the attacks in Europe.

"The arrests were pre-planned and intelligence-led. "There was no risk to the public at any time and there is no information to suggest an attack in the UK was being planned."

All five were being held in the West Midlands, where they were being questioned by WMCTU officers.

Police were also searching a number of properties in the city as part of the investigation and these are on-going.

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: "These arrests follows recent arrests in Europe but we won't comment any further."