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2 held over threat to kill Brown

LONDON: Two men have been arrested in connection with an alleged threat to kill Prime Minister Gordon Brown, thus bringing the number of arrests to five. All are being held under the Terrorism Act.

On August 14, three men of Pakistani origin, all in their 20s, were arrested. The police have until Thursday to charge or release them or seek a further extension to hold them. Of the two new arrests, one took place on Tuesday when a 24-year-old man, reported to be a white Muslim convert, was detained in Blackburn and the second in Derby, on Wednesday.

The threat to kill Mr. Brown and other leading British political leaders, including the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, appeared briefly on an Arabic extremist website al-Ekhlas on January 24 and was issued in the name of Sheikh Umar Rabie al-Khalaila, the “leader of Al-Qaeda in Britain.”

Local Muslim leaders said they are happy to cooperate with the police.

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