A 42-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man have been arrested by counter-terrorism police in London on suspicion of assisting Iran‘s intelligence service.
The pair were arrested on Wednesday afternoon as part of an investigation into suspected National Security Act Offences, the force said.
The woman was arrested at an address in north London, while the man was arrested at an address in north-west London.
Two searches carried out on June 24 at residential addresses in the north and north-west London areas led to further enquiries and ultimately Wednesday’s arrests, the Met Police said.
A third residential property in the north-west London area was also searched yesterday, following the arrests of the man and the woman on suspicion of an offence under section 3 of the National Security Act, 2023 – assisting a foreign intelligence service.
Both suspects were taken to a London police station and have been released on bail under strict conditions until a date in late October.
Police said the investigation ‘is not connected to any of the incidents or attacks earlier this year that have been targeted at various venues and buildings linked to Jewish and Iranian communities across London, nor is it connected to any activity or events linked to the upcoming High Holy Days period’.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London said: ‘We know that news of these arrests will come as a concern to some members of the public, but I want to stress that we do not believe there to be any imminent threat to the wider public in connection with this matter.
‘We’ve seen a marked increase in the tempo of our work linked to national security and state threats over the past year and this investigation is a continuation of that.
‘As we’ve shown here, if we suspect any activity could threaten the safety of the UK or the public, then we will not hesitate to take action.
‘I would also like to remind the public that the overall terrorism threat level is at severe, so we continue to ask for everyone’s support through being vigilant, and if you see or hear anything that doesn’t look right, then please, trust your instincts, and report it to us.’
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.
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