Britain:Six of the nine men arrested in anti-terrorist raids in Birmingham last week have appeared in court charged with terrorism offences - one with plotting to kidnap and kill a British soldier.
Parviz Khan (36) was accused of devising the plot between November 1st last year and his arrest on January 31st and of "engaging in conduct to give effect to his intention to kidnap and kill a member of the armed forces contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2000".
Amjad Mahmood (31), Mohammed Irfan (30), Zahoor Iqbal (29), and Hamid Elasmar (43) were charged along with Mr Khan with supplying equipment and funding for a terrorist act between March 30th last year and their arrest. Mr Mahmood faced an additional charge of failing to disclose information of material assistance in preventing an act of terrorism.
Police later said a sixth man, Basira Gassama (29) had also been charged with failing to disclose information of material assistance in preventing an act of terrorism by Mr Khan and others.
The five were remanded in custody by City of Westminster magistrates in London yesterday following their transfer in police convoy from Coventry, amid calls from Muslim leaders for community calm and warnings by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service about the need for care and responsibility in reporting of the circumstances surrounding the alleged offences.
At the same time former Conservative leadership contender Kenneth Clarke joined human rights organisation Liberty in pressing for an inquiry into alleged Home Office-based briefings at the time of the Birmingham raids and arrests.
Liberty director Shami Chakrabati had earlier said she was "gravely concerned" by reports that the Home Office "may have secretly and speculatively briefed journalists" while security operations were under way.
Such practices, she warned, risked undermining the work of police and prosecutors while jeopardising also "both the trust and safety of the public".
Following the earlier release of three of the nine men without charge, assistant chief constable David Shaw of West Midlands Police reminded reporters "about the damage that media speculation can have on this investigation and on local communities".
Mr Shaw said that "contrary to much of the reporting about the area", the police had seen "real leadership from all sections of the community", who had not only supported them "but also publicly supported our search for the truth".
However, while he was extremely encouraged by the way in which the investigation had progressed, Mr Shaw added: "It is vital that we do not fail to acknowledge the stark reality of what was being planned in our midst."
The chairman of Birmingham's Central Mosque, Dr Mohammed Naseem, repeated that Muslims felt "persecuted unjustly" by the government for political ends and that some in the community resented the way in which police raids had been carried out.
However chairman of the British Muslim Forum Khurshid Ahmed appealed for restraint following the charges against the men, insisting "the due process of law must be allowed to take its course", while adding this should also be "without interference from the media".
Mr Ahmed was speaking against the backdrop of other unrelated developments contributing to a renewed sense of tension across the country - with Muslim activist Abu Izzadeen remanded on conditional bail charged with a terrorism offence.
Meanwhile the department of education announced the closure of an Islamic school that was at the centre of a terror alert last year.
Mr Izzadeen (32) appeared at Westminster Magistrate's Court accused under section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006, relating to the encouragement of terrorism. His arrest in east London on Thursday was thought to be in connection with a speech he made in Birmingham last year.
Meanwhile, the department of education said it had removed the independent Jameah Isameah school in East Sussex from its register of independent schools, saying it was no longer good enough to operate.
The school, near Crowborough, was searched last September when 14 people were arrested in a series of police raids in London.