Five detained follow anti-terror raids

Five men are facing deportation after being detained following a series of anti-terror raids on Monday.

The Home Office confirmed that three men were detained in the West Midlands, one in London and one in Cardiff, under the Immigration Act 1971, following the raids by immigration officials and police, early on Monday morning.

The men have not been named and their nationalities are not known.

A Home Office spokesperson said that the men, who are being held under Home Secretary Charles Clarke’s powers to deport those individuals whose presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good, are being held in secure prison accommodation.

Monday’s raids are the latest in the government’s clampdown on extremists, following the July 7 London bombings in which 52 people were killed.

Ten people were detained following raids on August 11 and another seven were detained under the same powers on September 15.

The UK cannot deport anyone who faces persecution in another country under the Human Rights Act. However, the government is currently negotiating with several countries in order to secure agreements that anyone deported from Britain would not face persecution.

Last month, the Home Office signed an agreement with Jordan to guarantee that any deportees would not be harmed.

Human rights groups have expressed concerns about the agreements, fearing that deportees could still be in danger of being tortured or executed upon their return.

(KMcA/SP)