Terror police question man over stabbing close to GCHQ

POLICE questioned an alleged terrorist yesterday who is accused of stabbing a woman in a car three miles from the GCHQ spy headquarters.

The man is said to have lashed out with a knife in a leisure centre car park in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire at 9.15pm last Thursday. He was arrested at the scene and the assault was initially treated as attempted murder.

But the suspect, 29, was rearrested 24 hours later on suspicion of preparing and instigating a terrorist act. Yesterday police were searching a property in Cheltenham connected to the alleged offender.

Residents living near the leisure centre suggested the victim was known to the suspect and the pair had been arguing in the car before the woman was attacked.

Counter Terrorism Policing South East said the stabbing had turned into a terror probe ‘due to some specific details’.

Despite being seriously wounded, the stabbed woman managed to alert staff at the leisure centre and was rushed to hospital where she remains in a stable condition.