BRITAIN: Six more people were being questioned by British police yesterday on suspicion of terrorist crimes, as four other men linked to the discovery of the toxic chemical ricin in a London apartment appeared in court.
Five men and a woman were arrested by anti-terrorist police in Bournemouth, on England's southern coast, but it was not clear whether they were linked in any way to the ricin case.
Chief Supt Bob Boulton of Dorset police in south England said: "No chemical materials were found in connection with the \ arrests, which were carried out under the Terrorism Act 2000. Our message to the people of Bournemouth is that there is no need to be alarmed by these recent events, but continue to be vigilant."
In London, a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman confirmed the new arrests, but held back from linking them to the arrest of seven people - mostly Algerians, according to press reports - during police raids in north and east London on Sunday and Tuesday last week.
Four of the seven appeared for a half-hour hearing yesterday in a central London court on charges of possession of articles "suspected to be connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism", and "being concerned in the development or production of a chemical weapon." They were all remanded in custody pending another appearance on Friday.
The charged were Mr Mouloud Feddag (18), Mr Samir Feddag (33) and Mr Mustapha Taleb (33). The fourth suspect, aged 17, cannot be identified. There were no applications for bail.
The court was told that the address on record for Mr Samir Feddag was in Algiers, and that he was of no fixed abode in Britain.
Mr Taleb and Mr Mouloud Feddag gave addresses in north London.
A fifth man, Mr Nasreddine Fekhardji, arrested at the same time as the others, appeared separately yesterday at Bow Street Magistrates' Court charged with two offences of possessing a fake French passport and identity card.
In a joint statement last Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police said a "small amount" of the deadly poison ricin had been recovered from a flat in Wood Green, north London, where one of the four men was also arrested.