Islamist terror suspects ‘planned attack in UK’

Dramatic CCTV footage has emerged of one of a series of arrests across London, in which counter-terror police are seen tackling a suspect in upmarket Westbourne Grove in west London.

The footage, obtained by ITV News, shows officers wrestling to the ground the 28-year-old man, of Azerbaijani origin, around 7pm on Sunday before four cars swoop in.

At the same time, armed police fired special ammunition – designed to breach doors or burst tyres – to stop a car in Mansell Street, near the Tower of London, and arrested two men, both aged 25.

One is a of Turkish origin, while the other is of Algerian origin.

A 29-year-old, of Pakistani origin, was also held in Peckham Street, south-east London, during the MI5-assisted operation.

The men, who are all British nationals, have been detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, Scotland Yard said, and were being quizzed at a south London police station.

Six addresses across the capital and the two vehicles were being examined by the Metropolitan Police yesterday.

The questioning came as 
security Minister James Brokenshire said in a speech he backed Mi5 chief Andrew Parker’s criticism of exposing the work of GCHQ.

In an apparent reference to recent disclosures by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, Mr Parker, who led Mi5’s response to the July 7 bombings, warned last week that exposing the “reach and limits” of listening post GCHQ is a “gift” to terrorists.

Last week, it emerged Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is seeking a rethink of the way politicians oversee the security agencies.