Manchester Terror Suspects Can Now Be Held Until 4 October
The two men arrested in Manchester on the eve of Yom Kippur over a suspected plot against the city’s Jewish community have been neither charged nor released. Detectives have obtained fresh warrants of further detention and have been granted another week of questioning, taking custody to Sunday 4 October. Both remain held on suspicion of offences under section 41 of the Terrorism Act.
A second extension is a signal in itself: a fortnight after the arrests the inquiry is still producing lines worth pursuing, and the threshold for charging has not yet been met. The men, both in their thirties, have not been named, and searches were carried out at addresses in Liverpool and Salford. Police have described the investigation as “ongoing” with officers continuing “to pursue a number of lines of enquiry”. The original account remains that of Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, who said the operation had disrupted “what we believe to be a plot to target the Jewish community in the Manchester area” and acknowledged the timing during “the significant High Holy day period”. Sources have described the plan as being in its later stages. Watch for a charge or a release by next Sunday.