Fourth arrest in ‘plot to kill PM’

A fourth man has been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to kill Prime Minister Gordon Brown. A police spokeswoman said a 25-year-old Blackburn man, who is believed to be white, was taken into custody by Lancashire Constabulary and Greater Manchester Counter Terrorism Unit as part of a probe into threats to kill Brown.

Police are still questioning three men, aged 21, 22 and 23, arrested on August 14, after calls for the British premier's death appeared on an extremist jihad website in January. Two of the men were held at Manchester Airport as they were about to board a flight to Finland, and the third man was detained in Lancashire. The investigation has also taken British police to Scandinavia.

According to the Times, one of the men is suspected of posting a death threat on a known extremist website and styling himself as Sheikh Umar Rabie al-Khalaila, leader of al-Qaeda in Britain.

Police have until Thursday to charge the first three men, release them or seek an extension to their custody.