Twelve people have been arrested after an Islamic event had to close early due to an alleged threat from extreme right-wing terrorists.
Organisers of the the UK Ijtima event in Shrubland Hall, Suffolk, were advised to end the event earlier than planned on Sunday by police after the possible threat.
Three of the 12 suspects were arrested in Surrey on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, police said.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London said: “After becoming aware of a potential serious threat towards the Islamic event in Suffolk, we have moved extremely quickly to make a number of arrests in various locations across the country.
“I would like to thank colleagues in Suffolk Police for their ongoing support, which led to the declaration of a major incident on Sunday in response to this.
“I’d also like to thank the event organisers and the public who have been impacted by this.
“I know this news may be concerning to the public and particularly those in the Muslim community, given that we believe the intended target was an Islamic event.
“But as we have shown, we will not hesitate to act if there is any potential threat, no matter who or what the potential target may be.
“I’m also pleased to say that although the event ended slightly earlier than planned, it nevertheless passed off safely.
“Sadly, this activity is a stark reminder that the threat level in the UK is at ‘severe’, so we urge the public to remain vigilant and report anything if it doesn’t look or feel right.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said police are investigating a credible threat against the event.
She said: “I know this is deeply concerning news for British Muslims.
“We must stand against hatred and we must unite around our shared belief in a country that is open, generous and tolerant to all our communities.”
Three of the suspects – men aged 55, 60 and 82 – were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder in Surrey on Sunday, and a 48-year-old woman was arrested in east London on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Eight other men were held under section 41 of the Terrorism Act.
They are two men aged 27 and 29 who were arrested in Surrey, two men both aged 42 held in Essex, a 27-year-old man arrested in Ipswich, and a 35-year-old man in Greater Manchester, who were all arrested on Sunday.
The remaining two men aged, 31 and 33, were held in London on Monday.
Thousands of people attended the event over the weekend, held in the grounds of an historic country home.
Assistant Chief Constable Alice Scott, from Suffolk Constabulary, said: “We understand that the arrests and the context behind them may well cause some concern amongst our local communities.
“To provide some level of reassurance we will have a visible police presence in the area of Shrubland Hall over the coming days and we welcome local people to speak to us on the matter if they wish to.
“The situation was declared a major incident early on Sunday morning with a multi-agency response convened to ensure a safe and properly co-ordinated departure from the event of the 15,000 attendees. The major incident status was withdrawn earlier today.”
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