LOC19:53
16:53 GMT
LONDON, Nov 8 (KUNA) -- The UK Government's terrorism watchdog is to
investigate the arrests of six men questioned by police over an alleged plot
to attack the Pope, it was revealed Monday.
The head of the terrorism watchdog, Lord Carlile, will examine whether the
Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism officers were justified in detaining
the men in armed raids during Pope Benedict XVI's visit last September,
according to a newspaper report.
All six men, who are from Muslim and Algerian origins, were released
without charge after being arrested in London.
The review, to be announced by Home Secretary Theresa May, will look at
whether the police used their powers correctly when they arrested the men and
whether there was any other way they could have dealt with the suspected
threat, according to London's Evening Standard newspaper.
The Home Office said it could not comment on the report. Police searched
eight homes in north and east London and two business premises in central
London, including a street cleaning depot, as part of the investigation.
Searches of the premises did not disclose any weapons or suspicious
materials, Scotland Yard said.
Reports at the time suggested the men, aged 26, 27, 29, 36, 40 and 50, had
simply been overheard sharing a joke in their canteen.
One of the men, 29, was arrested at a home in north London shortly before 2:
00 pm on Friday September 17.
The five other men, believed to be street cleaners, were arrested at
gunpoint as armed officers swooped on their base as they prepared to start
their shift shortly before 6am on the same day.
They worked for "Veolia" Environmental Services, a contractor which employs
650 on-street staff to keep the streets of Westminster area in central London
clean. (end)
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