Update - CNN reporting all 6 men released without charges
Sept 18, 2010
This is the first news report with that title. The other articles referred to them as men, streetsweepers or men of North African heritage. BBC is reporting that 6 men were arrested – 5 together and one later. FOX reported that the 6th man is 29 y/o.
[All emphasis added]
From the Telegraph:
The men were arrested during raids at 5.45am at a rubbish depot in central London based on an intelligence tip off received overnight. The suspects, aged 26, 27, 36, 40 and 50 were arrested by officers from Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
They are said to be from a variety of nationalities including a number of Algerian origin.
The depot where they worked is less than a mile from Hyde Park where the Pope was due to hold a prayer vigil tomorrow evening.
Pope’s spokesman, Fr Lombardi said the Pope is aware of the arrests and that there is:
no need to change anything about the programme with the Pope and the security for this trip. The Pope is calm and happy and we go on with this trip with courage and joy. We are totally confident in the work of the police and Scotland Yard.
BBC reports 6 men were arrested:
Six men remain in custody after being held for questioning by anti-terrorism officers investigating a potential threat against the Pope’s visit.
The six – who are all arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism - are aged between 26 and 50. At least five of the men are not British nationals. Most are thought to be Algerian.
Armed officers arrested the first five at the company’s Chiltern Street depot in west London as they were preparing to start their shifts. A sixth was later taken into custody.
The six – who all work as street cleaners in Westminster – were arrested in the capital on Friday. They are employed by Veolia Environment Services, a cleaning company contracted by Westminster Council.
Searches conducted as part of the investigation have finished without the discovery of anything significant. The Metropolitan Police says it searched both residential and commercial properties.
CNN title: “Pope meets with clergy abuse victims, expresses ‘sorrow’ for scandal”
15 paragraphs in:
Six men remained in custody Saturday after their arrests a day earlier on terrorism charges — incidents that prompted officials to review the pope’s security arrangements.
Some news reports said the arrests involved a potential threat to the pope, but the Metropolitan Police declined to say whether the case was directly linked to the pontiff’s visit.
Five of the men are street cleaners who were arrested before dawn on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism. They appeared to be Algerian, a high-ranking source familiar with the investigation said, adding that some or all of them were probably in the country illegally.
A sixth man was arrested later in the day by counterterrorism detectives investigating the possible plot against the pope, police said.
