Extreme Right Wing Terrorist Charged With Preparing Attack

October 23, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A man has been charged with preparing for a right-wing terrorist attack on a major immigration law firm.

Cavan Medlock, 28, of Harrow, north London, is charged with preparing an act of terrorism by researching Duncan Lewis Solicitors with the intention of killing an immigration solicitor.

Prosecutors allege he equipped himself with a knife and handcuffs, as well as Nazi and Confederate flags before going to the offices in Harrow on 7 September. He faces a trial on 17 May.

China Demand US Halt Plan To Sell $1.8bn Of Arms To Taiwan

October 22, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The US has approved arms sales to Taiwan worth around $1.8bn (£1.4bn), in a move that is likely to increase tensions with China.

The Pentagon said the deal comprised three weapons systems, including rocket launchers, sensors and artillery. Taiwan, which considers itself a country, is seen as a renegade province by China.

Tensions have increased in recent years and Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to take the island back.

Soldiers Open Fire On Protestors In Nigeria

October 21, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A number of people have reportedly been shot dead or wounded at a protest against police brutality in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos.

Witnesses and the rights group Amnesty International said several people were killed and wounded when soldiers opened fire. The state governor said about 25 people had been wounded but only one person had died.

An indefinite 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Lagos and other regions.

Mystery Substance Attack In Dudley

October 21, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Fifteen people have been treated for breathing difficulties after an unknown substance was sprayed inside branches of Pizza Hut, Tesco and McDonald's.

Emergency services were called to The Arcade in Upper Gornal, Dudley, shortly after 19:00 BST on Tuesday. One person was taken to hospital, but none have suffered any lasting effects, West Midlands Police said.

Forensics experts are working to establish the nature of the substance, the force added.

Steward At Manchester Arena Informed Of Suspicious Bomber Abedi

October 20, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A man who spoke to Salman Abedi in the foyer of Manchester Arena and thought he could be a bomber said he was "fobbed off" by a security steward.

Christopher Wild was at the arena with his partner Julie Whitley to pick up their 14-year-old daughter and her friend after the Ariana Grande concert. He told a public inquiry they had seen a man with a rucksack, apparently hiding, on a mezzanine floor. "I just thought he could be very dangerous," he said.

Twenty-two people were killed and many more injured when 22-year-old Abedi detonated an explosive as fans left the arena on 22 May 2017.

Homes Raided By French Police After Beheading Of Teacher

October 19, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

French police have raided the homes of dozens of suspected Islamic radicals following the beheading of a teacher who showed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.

Some of those being questioned are believed to have posted messages of support for the killer of Samuel Paty. The government also said it was investigating 51 French Muslim associations.

Mr Paty's suspected killer was shot dead by police on Friday.

Teacher Beheaded In Terror Attack

October 17, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The teacher who was beheaded in a street in France had received threats after showing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils, French media report.

Nine people have been arrested, including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working, judicial sources are quoted as saying.

The attacker was shot dead by police near the scene of Friday's killing.

Police say the attacker was an 18-year-old man of Chechen origin.

Man Arrested On Terror Offences At Stansted Airport

October 16, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A man has been arrested at Stansted Airport on suspicion of terror-related offences.

The Metropolitan Police said the 22-year-old was stopped at the Essex airport on Monday at about 17:30 BST. He was arrested on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and dissemination of terrorist publications and taken to a London police station.

Westminster Magistrates' Court granted permission for him to be detained until Monday.

On Wednesday, he was arrested again on suspicion of collecting information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

UK Prison Officers Under Constant Threat From Extremists

October 16, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Prison staff guarding extremist offenders are under "constant threat" from inmates who intend to "behead a guard and stream it online", the Prison Officers' Association (POA) said.

Last week two men were convicted of trying to murder an officer at HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire. POA chairman Mark Fairhurst said the threat posed had never been greater.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said measures had been stepped up to "stop the spread of poisonous ideologies".

Director General Of MI5 Claims UK Is Facing 'Nasty Mix' Of Threats

October 14, 2020 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Britain is facing a "nasty mix" of national security threats, from hostile state activity by Russia and China to fast-growing right-wing terrorism, the new director general of MI5 has said.

Ken McCallum said terrorism remains the biggest threat - with Northern Irish and Islamist extremism also a concern.