An Islamist hate preacher who led a march through Brick Lane against the sale of alcohol has been arrested in terrorism raids by Scotland Yard.
Anjem Choudary is understood to be one of nine men arrested and held on suspicion of belonging to a banned terrorist group in dawn raids in London this morning.
A Met spokesman said counter terrorism officers are searching a number of residential, business or community premises for an “ongoing investigation into Islamist-related terrorism”.
Eleven of these premises are in east London, he added.
Al-Muhajiroun, founded by Choudary, is understood to be the banned group in question, according to Press Association sources.
The arrested men are aged between 22 and 51 and are being held in police stations in central London.
The Met spokesman said: “These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investigation into Islamist-related terrorism and are not in response to any immediate public safety risk.”
Choudary led a march through Brick Lane last December telling Muslims to “fear Allah” and stop selling alcohol, which his group said is “destroying society”.
But Muslim off-licence owners and restauranteurs hit back, saying they would continue to sell alcohol if they wished, and would not be told how to practice their religion by Mr Choudary.
His group was banned under it’s first name, Al Ghurabaa, in 2006 for glorifying terrorism, including at a famous protest in London against cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in Denmark.
Three men linked to the group were jailed in December 2013 for terrorising the public in the East End as part of what they called “Muslim Patrols”.
A study in 2012 by the Henry Jackson Society found that 18 per cent of all terrorism convictions in the UK over a ten year period were of people with links to the group.
Read more:
Video: Bethnal Green Islamist jailed for keeping al-Qaeda terror manualsAnti-alcohol Islamist group with Brick Lane links banned for ‘glorifying terrorism’Brick Lane traders hit back at hate preacher’s anti-alcohol marchVideo: ‘Fear Allah’, hate preacher Anjem Choudary tells shopkeepers at anti-alcohol marchPicture Gallery: Muslim anti-alcohol march in Brick LaneMen with links to banned Islamist group ‘targeting students’ outside Queen Mary University‘Muslim Patrol’ trio jailed for threatening ‘non-believers’ on the streets of east London
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