Terror threat is lowered after tube bomb arrests

Two men in custody as homes are searched in south of England

The UK’s threat level has been lowered from critical to severe after two people were arrested in connection with the terror attack on Parsons Green.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said police had made “good progress” in the investigation as she announced the country had been removed from the highest terror alert.

An 18-year-old man, understood to be the suspected bomber and a 21-year-old man remain in custody after being arrested by police on Saturday and searches are under way at two addresses.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the country’s top counterterrorism officer, said developments in the operation had provided greater clarity on the attack.

He said: “We are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the device.

“There is still much more to do but this greater clarity and this progress has led JTAC – the independent body that assesses threat – to come to the judgment that an attack is no longer imminent.”

An address in Stanwell, Surrey – just metres from the runway at Heathrow Terminal 5 – is being searched in connection with the arrest of the 21-year-old man in Hounslow. An 18-year-old man was earlier detained in the departure area of Dover ferry port.

Police are continuing to search a second house in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey – home to Penelope and Ronald Jones, aged 71 and 88 respectively, who previously received MBEs for services to children and families.

The couple, who have been foster parents for almost 40 years, had taken in up to 300 children, including eight refugees.

A local politician said he understood an 18-year-old who had lived with the couple to be an Iraqi orphan who had moved to Britain aged 15 after his parents died.

Leader of Spelthorne Borough Council, Ian Harvey, whose ward is Sunbury East, said he learnt about the boy’s background from neighbours of Mr and Mrs Jones and information available publicly.

He said: “One thing I understand is that he was an Iraqi refugee who came here aged 15 – his parents died in Iraq.”

Jim Adaway, 37, a family friend, said Mr and Mrs Jones recently returned to foster caring to help resettle youngsters from overseas.

He said Mrs Jones had been struggling with one of the children.

The couple are said to be staying with friends following the police raids, during which surrounding houses were evacuated by counter-terror officers, with residents told they had “one minute” to flee their homes.

Local residents said the man living at the address in Lowlands Drive, Stanwell, which was raided by police on Sunday, is a man of Arabic appearance.

A total of 30 people were injured when the improvised device exploded during rush hour at Parsons Green station, with all but one now discharged from hospital.

The lowering of the threat level from critical to severe means another attack is no longer imminent but still highly likely.

Pictures: Getty and PA. Above: the home in Sunbury, Surrey, of Penelope and Ronald Jones is searched. Below: Police keep guard at an address in Stanwell, also Surrey, which is also being searched by terror officers.