UK police arrest 12 in probe into alleged threat to Islamic event

UK police arrested 12 people as part of an extreme right-wing terrorism-related investigation into an alleged threat against an Islamic event in eastern England, counter-terrorism police said.

The UK Ijtima, a large Islamic gathering held in Suffolk over the weekend, was closed early after police received information about a potential threat.

Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said police moved quickly to make arrests in several locations across the country after becoming aware of what she called a potential serious threat towards the event.

Those arrested on Sunday and Monday included 11 men aged between 27 and 82 and one 48-year-old woman. Most of them live in London or eastern England. Police said eight of the men were arrested on suspicion of terrorism, three men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, and the woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Police said they did not believe there was any wider threat to the public connected to the matter.

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said police had investigated a credible threat against the event. In a statement on X, she said the news was deeply concerning for British Muslims and said hatred must be opposed.

The source also notes that last month a Scottish man was charged with attempted murder with a racist and terror motive after five people were injured in a stabbing spree thought to be motivated by anti-Muslim hatred. It says charities have reported increases in Islamophobia and antisemitism in the UK in recent years, alongside a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment fuelling protests and riots.