Police given more time for 'terror plot' quiz

Detectives have been granted more time to question a 22-year-old woman over a suspected terror plot in the UK.

Officers from Scotland Yard's counter terrorism command now have until Friday to hold and question the woman, who was arrested in Hackney, east London, on Saturday.

Five men arrested last week in connection with the same plot, including British Muslim convert Richard Dart, can also be held until Thursday after Westminster magistrates granted a series of warrants of further detention, police said.

A seventh person held in the raids, a 30-year-old woman, was released without charge on Saturday.

Dart, 29, who changed his name to Salahuddin al-Britani after converting, was one of the six people arrested over the suspected terror plot last Thursday.

He is believed to have been one of three people detained in Ealing, west London, and was arrested in the street.

The others detained in Ealing were a 21-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman held at separate home addresses. The woman has since been released without charge.

Three men living just over a mile from the Olympic site in Stratford, east London, were also arrested.

The men, aged 18, 24 and 26, who are believed to be members of the same Bangladeshi family, were detained in a raid on their home.

The six, who include a former police community support officer, remain in custody at a south-east London police station on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The alleged plan involved Islamist extremists with potential targets in the UK, but was not linked to the Olympics, it is understood.

The threat to the UK from international terrorism is currently rated substantial - the third highest of five levels.

PA