Three more men arrested in London on suspicion of planning terrorist attack

Five men were arrested in a series of dawn raids last week

The headquarters of the Metropolitan Police (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty)

Three men were arrested in central London yesterday as part of an investigation into Islamist-related terrorism.

The trio, aged 21, 24 and 25, were being held in custody on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism, Scotland Yard said.

The arrests come nearly a week after five men were arrested in dawn raids that Whitehall officials said “may have foiled the early stages” of a plan to attack the UK. Last night Scotland Yard confirmed that two men had been released from custody. The other three suspects arrested last week remain in custody after a warrant of further detention was granted at a magistrates’ court. Under the Terrorism Act, suspects can be held without charge for up to 14 days.

A business address in west London was searched as part of the operation and there were ongoing searches at a further four residential addresses in north-west London, the Met Police said.

There is heightened concern among security services of a potential attack by those connected to Syria or Iraq, with London particularly vulnerable. Over the weekend the Mayor of London Boris Johnson said thousands of potential terrorists are being monitored in London with “a third or maybe half” of the 500 British Isis fighters believed to be from the capital.