Man in his 60s arrested on suspicion of terror offence after uranium found at Heathrow
15 January 2023, 19:18 | Updated: 15 January 2023, 19:47
A man in his 60s been arrested on suspicion of a terror offence after traces of uranium were found at Heathrow Airport last month.
Police said the man was arrested on Saturday in Cheshire under Section nine of the Terrorism Act and was released on bail.
A small amount of the radioactive material was discovered by Border Force officers with a shipment of scrap metal following a routine screening on December 29.
Commander Richard Smith, who leads the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said: "The discovery of what was a very small amount of uranium within a package at Heathrow Airport is clearly of concern, but it shows the effectiveness of the procedures and checks in place with our partners to detect this type of material."
“Our priority since launching our investigation has been to ensure that there is no linked direct threat to the public.
"To this end, we are following every possible line of inquiry available to us, which has led us to making this arrest over the weekend.
“I want to be clear that despite making this arrest, and based on what we currently know, this incident still does not appear to be linked to any direct threat to the public.
“However, detectives are continuing with their inquiries to ensure this is definitely the case.”
The man has been released on bail until a date in April, The Met's Counter Terrorism Command said.
Officers said they did not find any other dangerous material at the address in Cheshire but the offence the man is accused of relates to the making or possession of radioactive material.
