A ‘TERRORIST’ threat to kidnap and murder a serving police officer sent shock-waves across the West Midlands force this week.
The plot, which could have seen an innocent officer in partial or full uniform attacked on the streets and which sparked fears of a Lee Rigby-style killing, saw a 31-year-old arrested on Tuesday (December 9) evening.
The man was arrested at a property in the West Midlands by officers from the Counter Terrorism Unit.
No further information had been released at the time of going print.
The force had issued an alert to officers and staff after receiving an ‘anonymous but credible’ tip-off on Monday (December 8) and said it was taking the threat ‘extremely seriously’.
A statement released by the force does not specify the nature of Monday’s threat, but confirms that it was ‘anonymous, but credible information’.
Rumours had been circulating that all officers had been called back to police headquarters when the threat was received.
However, the Police have strongly denied this.
Assistant Chief Constable Garry Forsyth, said steps were taken to ensure the safety of officers and staff some were held on duty at the end of their shifts whilst they were given the security reminder but at no time were officers taken off the streets.
Safety measures issued to officers and staff included advice about travelling to and from work in partial uniform as well as police station security.
Ass Ch Cons Forsyth added: “It’s important to also stress that the information we received did not refer to the wider public and there was no increased risk to people.
“Our commitment is to protect the public from harm and, though we take all security issues seriously, we will not be distracted from that promise.”
The threat level to police officers across Britain was raised to substantial in October, meaning an attack is a strong possibility.
The force said it was still responding to 999 calls and that officers were held on duty while they were given the security reminder, or advised as they started their shifts.
The national anti-terrorist hotline can be contacted on 0800 789 321.
