Thursday, January 30, 2014

Woman arrested in London terror raid to face court



A woman charged with attempted murder following terror raids on three properties that also led to the arrest of the teenage son of a senior British diplomat, will appear in court on Thursday.


Police said they would take no further action against the 19-year-old, but that 36-year-old Kuntal Patel, also arrested in the Counter-Terrorism Command raids, had been charged.


She will appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court, police said in a statement.


The Daily Telegraph reported that the released teenager was the son of Nicholas Sutcliffe, a first secretary — typically the third rung below an ambassador and the deputy head of mission in an embassy.


It quoted the teenager’s grandmother as saying: “This is nothing to do with him.


“He has been told by the police that he has done nothing wrong.”


Sutcliffe’s sister-in-law described the arrest as “lunacy” and suggested it was a “mix-up”.


Newspaper reports said the diplomat had worked in Brazil and Cuba.


The teenager, arrested on suspicion of an offence under anti-terrorism laws, was released from police bail Wednesday with no further action, Scotland Yard said.


Police searched his house and a neighbouring property in Streatham Hill, south London, on Saturday, setting up forensic tents in the back gardens.


In a linked search, officers in protective clothing began searching a house Sunday in Stratford, east London, which reports said was the home of a magistrate.


The 36-year-old woman charged on Wednesday is said by newspapers to be the magistrate’s daughter.


The Times said counter-terrorism officers conducted the operation due to intelligence that police might find dangerous chemicals, but the focus was on potential criminal rather than terrorist offences.


Police said there was nothing to suggest the public was at risk.


The Foreign Office declined to comment.





Woman arrested in London terror raid to face court

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