A total of 12 people have been arrested over an ‘extreme right-wing threat’ to an Islamic event in Suffolk, police said.

The arrests were made as part of a Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London investigation.

Counter-terror police say the probe is ‘extreme right-wing terrorism-related’ and connected to a suspected threat directed towards an Islamic event held at Shrubland Hall, Suffolk, over the weekend.

The organisers of the UK Ijtima event were forced to shut it down early on Sunday following advice from Suffolk Police.

Sir Keir Starmer said he will “not tolerate any attacks on our Muslim communities, or any form of anti-Muslim hatred”, describing the news as “shocking”.

He wrote on X: “Shocking news that Counter Terrorism Police are investigating a credible, serious threat targeted at an Islamic event in Suffolk.

“Thanks to the quick action taken by police and the organisers, nobody was hurt. My message is clear: I will not tolerate any attacks on our Muslim communities, or any form of anti-Muslim hatred.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the response of the police in tackling a “credible threat” to the UK Ijtima festival had “undoubtedly saved lives”.

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.”

There is not believed be any wider threat to the public.

The oldest of those arrested is 81-years-old. The youngest is 27.

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.”

Eight men have all been arrested and detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act, 2000 and remain in police custody.

Three other men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, and a woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Of those, one person has since been released on bail, while the other three remain in police custody.

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 (Mon).

“This was a complex and fast moving scenario with the priority of all the agencies working together to ensure the safety of all the attendees. The Suffolk Resilience Forum wants to thank the organiser and attendees for remaining calm in very difficult circumstances, and we can reassure the public that everyone left the location safely.”

Enquiries remain ongoing.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/counter-terror-arrest-far-right-threat-islamic-event-5HjddXR_2/