Three arrested at Gatwick

Three men detained by immigration officials at Gatwick Airport have been arrested under anti-terrorist legislation, Scotland Yard said yesterday.

They were stopped by immigration officers on Thursday afternoon and arrested on Friday. Detectives are not linking the arrests to the discovery last week in London of the deadly poison ricin, or to the killing of Detective Constable Stephen Oake in Manchester on Tuesday.

Police have not released details of the nationalities or names of the men, who are thought to have been "in transit" at the airport and are being held at an unnamed police station in central London. Under the Terrorism Act, detectives have the power to hold them for seven days.

In a separate operation yesterday, police in Cheltenham arrested three men near the government communications centre GCHQ, after a member of the public reported seeing them acting suspiciously.