Trio arrested by Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of committing, preparing and inciting acts of terrorism

Three men have been arrested by Greater Manchester Police on suspicion of committing, preparing and inciting acts of terrorism.

The three – aged 35, 36 and 51 – were arrested at three separate locations and taken into custody for questioning.

The police activated four search warrants and they were executed around 19.30 in the Bolton, Great Lever, Abram and Hindley areas, with officers still remaining at various scenes tonight.

The force believes there is no major threat to the general public at this time and is taking steps to minimize disruption to local residents.

They have also been taken into custody for questioning and scenes remain in place at the four addresses as inquiries are carried out under the Terrorism Act 2000, the force said.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, who has responsibility for counter-terrorism policing in the North West, said: “This evening we executed a number of planned warrants as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation.

“Three men have been taken into custody for questioning and the scenes remain in place while we carry out further enquiries.

“Today’s activity was the culmination of a lot of detailed planning and we have put measures in place to minimize disruption to local residents as much as possible.

“I understand that any time an arrest of this nature is made it will cause concern and people will naturally have questions.

“While we cannot go into specific details of the investigation at this stage, I want to reassure members of the public that we do not currently believe there is a wider threat related to today’s activity.

“Further details will be released where appropriate as the investigation progresses.”

This is breaking news, more to come.