Five men are being held under the Terrorism Act after being arrested close to the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria.
Sky sources said it is understood the men were British Asians and were taking photographs of the plant.They were detained at about 4.30pm on Monday after a stop check on a vehicle by officers. Part of a road was closed.
The five, all in their 20s and from London, were held overnight at a police station in Carlisle under section 41 of the Terrorism act.
The investigation is being led by counter-terrorism officers in Manchester.
Sky's home affairs correspondent Mark White said: "From what I understand there was nothing found on them that would give immediate cause for concern that there was any potential attack."
Highly dangerous nuclear materials are contained at Sellafield
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the investigation was in its early stages and no further information would be released yet.The location and timing of the incident, which came hours after news broke that Osama bin Laden had been killed by US special forces, is likely to cause concern.
Police said there was no evidence of a connection to the events in Pakistan, but the Government has urged the public to remain vigilant.
Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows a police officer to arrest any person who is "reasonably suspected" of being a terrorist.
The Sellafield site - responsible for decommissioning and reprocessing nuclear waste, and fuel manufacturing - is heavily protected by private security and officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, some of whom are armed.
Five arrested near Sellafield held under terrorism act
www.independent.co.ukAn investigation is now under way by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit.
A statement from Cumbria Police said: "At 4.32pm yesterday, Monday 2 May, police officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary conducted a stop check on a vehicle close to the Sellafield site in West Cumbria.
"As a result, police officers from Cumbria Constabulary arrested five men from London, all aged in their 20s, under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act.
"They were taken to police custody in Carlisle overnight and are being transported to Manchester this morning.
"The investigation is being led by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit.
"A road closure affected the area for a short period of time."
Both the location and timing of yesterday's incident will cause concern.
The terror arrests came outside the Sellafield site, which handles highly dangerous nuclear material.
And they were made in an apparent vehicle stop check within hours of the news breaking that Osama bin Laden had been killed.
At the same time, the public was being warned to remain extra vigilant for fear of a reprisal from groups sympathetic to al-Qa'ida.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the investigation is in its early stages and no further information will be released yet.
A statement added: "At this stage we are not aware of any connection to recent events in Pakistan."
Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 allows a police officer to arrest any person whom he "reasonably suspects" to be a terrorist.
The sprawling Sellafield site on the Cumbrian coast is heavily protected by both private security and officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, some of whom are armed.
Sellafield is responsible for decommissioning and reprocessing nuclear waste and fuel manufacturing, on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The Sellafield site has been operational since the 1940s, when it was used as a Royal Ordnance factory supporting the war effort. The site is also home to the world's first commercial nuclear power station - Calder Hall, which operated from 1956 to 2003.
Today the site comprises a wide range of nuclear facilities, including redundant facilities associated with early defence work, as well as operating facilities associated with the Magnox reprocessing programme, the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp), the Sellafield Mox plant and a range of waste treatment plants.
Labour leader Ed Miliband declined to comment directly on the arrests but told reporters at an election press conference: "It is right that the Government has stepped up security at various places and obviously they will act on any intelligence they have."
Five arrested near Sellafield under Terrorism Act
London men stopped by officers policing nuclear site in Cumbria
Five men have been arrested under the Terrorism Act near the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, police said.
The men were detained at 4.32pm on Monday after a vehicle was stopped and checked by officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), who police the facility in west Cumbria.
The five, all in their 20s and from London, were arrested under section 41 of the act and held in police custody overnight in Carlisle before being taken to Manchester on Tuesday morning, a spokesman for Cumbria police said.
An investigation is under way by the north-west counterterrorism unit.
The men were thought to have been filming near the nuclear plant and are all of Bangladeshi heritage, according to the BBC. The police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the arrested men.
Greater Manchester police said the investigation was in its early stages and there would be no further information released immediately. They were not aware of any connection to the death of Osama bin Laden in the US special forces operation in Pakistan.
The police said a road closure affected the area for "a short period of time".
A spokeswoman for Sellafield confirmed that the five men had been arrested close to the site: "It is a security issue and our security people are having discussions."
She said the plant had not been evacuated but the investigation had the potential to affect traffic.
The sprawling coastal site is heavily protected by both private security guards and officers from the CNC, some of whom are armed.
Sellafield is responsible for decommissioning and reprocessing nuclear waste and manufacturing fuel, on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The site has been operating since the 1940s, when it was used as a Royal Ordnance factory supporting the second world war effort. The site is also home to the world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, which operated from 1956 to 2003.
Today the site comprises redundant buildings associated with early defence work, and operating facilities associated with the Magnox reprocessing programme, the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp), the Sellafield Mox plant and a range of waste treatment plants.
The men were detained at 4.32pm on Monday after a vehicle was stopped and checked by officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), who police the facility in west Cumbria.
The five, all in their 20s and from London, were arrested under section 41 of the act and held in police custody overnight in Carlisle before being taken to Manchester on Tuesday morning, a spokesman for Cumbria police said.
An investigation is under way by the north-west counterterrorism unit.
The men were thought to have been filming near the nuclear plant and are all of Bangladeshi heritage, according to the BBC. The police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the arrested men.
Greater Manchester police said the investigation was in its early stages and there would be no further information released immediately. They were not aware of any connection to the death of Osama bin Laden in the US special forces operation in Pakistan.
The police said a road closure affected the area for "a short period of time".
A spokeswoman for Sellafield confirmed that the five men had been arrested close to the site: "It is a security issue and our security people are having discussions."
She said the plant had not been evacuated but the investigation had the potential to affect traffic.
The sprawling coastal site is heavily protected by both private security guards and officers from the CNC, some of whom are armed.
Sellafield is responsible for decommissioning and reprocessing nuclear waste and manufacturing fuel, on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The site has been operating since the 1940s, when it was used as a Royal Ordnance factory supporting the second world war effort. The site is also home to the world's first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall, which operated from 1956 to 2003.
Today the site comprises redundant buildings associated with early defence work, and operating facilities associated with the Magnox reprocessing programme, the Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp), the Sellafield Mox plant and a range of waste treatment plants.
Pro-Nuclear Power Blogs
Blogs written by individuals for the advancement of nuclear power.
'Terrorism' arrests at Sellafield
03 May 2011
Five men were arrested under the UK's Terrorism Act near the Sellafield site on 2 May, said Cumbria Police. They were all in the 20s from London, over 450 kilometres away. The men were held in Carlisle for one night before transfer to Manchester to take part in investigations of the regional counter terrorism unit. A Sellafield Ltd spokesman told World Nuclear News that operations at the site had continued as normal through the incident, with the main effect being on traffic flow on the road to the main entrance.
U.K. Arrests Five Terror Suspects Near Sellafield Nuclear Site
www.bloomberg.com
Police arrested five people near Sellafield Ltd.’s nuclear reprocessing site in Cumbria, England, on suspicion of terrorism.
Officers specializing in nuclear security stopped a vehicle close to the Sellafield site at 4:32 p.m. yesterday, according to a statement on Cumbria Constabulary’s website. The search resulted in the arrests of five men from London under Section 41 of the U.K.’s Terrorism Act, police said.
The Sellafield plant is Britain’s primary center for processing spent nuclear fuel and other cleanup work for the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The company was told of the arrests, and traffic to the site may be disrupted while the investigation proceeds, Andrew Pearson, a spokesman at the site in northern England, said today by telephone.
The U.K. is on “severe” alert for terrorism, and government leaders around the world predicted retaliation after U.S. commandos killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a May 1 raid in Pakistan.
The U.K. probe is being led by the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, the police statement said. The suspects, all in their 20s, were taken to police custody in Carlisle overnight and are being transported to Manchester this morning, it said.
