Terror suspect arrests surge to record high of 441 in a year

RECORD numbers of terror suspects have been arrested in Britain following a wave of deadly attacks.

A total of 441 suspected extremists were held in counter-terrorism swoops in the year to March – a rate of more than one a day.

The 17 per cent rise on the 378 arrested in the previous 12 months came as the threat from jihadis and far-Right extremists reached unprecedented levels.

The surge was driven by police operations following terror attacks in London and Manchester between April and September last year, which killed 36.

The number of arrests linked to suspected terrorism-related activity in Britain since the September 11 attacks in 2001 has now passed the 4,000 mark, and stands at 4,182.

Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the national co-ordinator for counter-terrorism, said: ‘With the terrorist attacks of 2017, we saw a genuine step-change in momentum.

‘As a result, our operational activity increased to meet the new and emerging threats we now face.

‘A year on and our activity continues to be at unprecedented levels; shown, not least, by the fact that in the past year – working together with the security services – we have stopped an average of one terrorist attack every month.’

Counter-terrorism chiefs say 12 Islamist and four extreme Right-wing plots have been foiled since March last year.

Home Office data published yesterday revealed 56 of the 441 arrests were of suspected female extremists, the highest since records began in 2001. Of the suspects, 27 were aged under 18.

‘Stopped an attack every month’