Britain Arrests Five for Filming Nuclear Plant

Reuters
Adam Martin 2,759 Views May 3, 2011

British police arrested a carload of 20-something men today for hanging around too close to the fence of the Sellafield nuclear power plant in Cumbria, northwest England. Now, counter-terrorism police have raided four East London addresses that were attached to the five suspects, and plan to raid more. They're now questioning the men in Manchester.

The five Londoners had been filming the nuclear site, police said, and were picked up under a British anti-terrorism statute, "which allows officers to arrest people suspected of terrorist offences and hold them for 48 hours without charge," Reuters reported. N

Prime minister David Cameron issued a warning yesterday for Britons to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden. According to the Guardian, "the police say they are not 'at this stage' connecting the arrests to the killing of the al-Qaida leader by US special forces, however." The report added, "they are believed to be from a Muslim background."

Many on have raised the alarm that the British government is overreacting. "Is this terrorism ...or being in possession of a camera in a public place," asked Ian Clarkson. "And what will you report when they are found innocent.. nothing!" wrote John Siddique in response to a BBC tweet about the news.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at amartin at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.

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