Searches conducted following airport arrest

Police are searching three properties in Bradford, following the arrest of a man on suspicion of terrorism offences at Manchester airport.

The 21-year-old man from Bradford was arrested under the Terrorism Act at Manchester airport around 9pm on Tuesday evening.

The man is currently being held at a West Yorkshire police station.

A 16-year-old boy was also arrested in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on suspicion of terrorism offences on Wednesday afternoon by officers questioning the older man.

West Yorkshire Police said that the searches were being carried out at addresses in Hanover Square, Manningham and Otley Road in Bradford.

West Yorkshire Police said that the operation did not involve armed officers and also confirmed that the arrest was unconnected to the ongoing Metropolitan police investigation at Forest Gate in east London.

In that incident, brothers Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, and Abul Koyair, 20, were arrested in a raid at their home in Lansdown Road in a search for a suspected chemical device.

Both men were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. Both have denied the charges.

Mr Kahar was shot in the shoulder during the raid and the incident is now being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

On Wednesday, police were expected to request magistrates to extend a warrant allowing them to continue to question the two men for another week.

The search is continuing at the house in Lansdown Road and is expected to continue all week. No devices have so far been found.

Scotland Yard said that they had received "specific intelligence" about the address and had "no choice" but to carry out the raid.

However, the new leader of the Muslim Council of Britain, Dr Muhammed Abdul Bari, warned that trust between Muslims and the police could be damaged by the raid.

On Wednesday, Respect Party activist Yvonne Ridley called on Muslims in east London to stop co-operating with police in the wake of the raid.

Responding to her comments, Metropolitan Police Commander Steve Allen said: "What is more likely to develop increasing trust, what is more likely to deliver effective police and community responses to situations like this? Is it when we talk to each other and spend time trying to understand each other's perspective, or is it when there is a call for complete disengagement?"

Prime Minister Tony Blair has defended the Forest Gate raid, giving it "one-hundred-and-one-percent" backing.

In a webcast interview posted on the No 10 website, Mr Blair said it was essential that the police took action if they received "reasonable" intelligence pointing to a terror attack.

"I support the police 101% - and the security services. I think if they have a reasonable piece of intelligence and they believe they have got to investigate - take action on - they should," he said.

"You can only imagine if they fail to take action and something terrible happened what outcry would be then, so they are in an impossible situation."

(KMcA)