As six terror suspects are arrested in London, a bus brings the M6 motorway to a standstill for four hours in a response involving armed police, troops, firefighters and bomb disposal officers.
The six were taken to a south-east London police station, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
A 29-year-old man was arrested in the street in west London, a 21-year-old man and the women were arrested at a separate residential premises in west London, and three other men, aged 18, 24, and 26, were arrested in east London.
“Searches under the Terrorism Act 2000 are being carried out at eight residential premises in east, west and north London and one business premises in east London,” the spokesman added.
“Public safety remains our overriding concern.”
The operation is understood to relate to a possible plot involving Islamist extremists with potential targets in the UK although the threat was not thought to be imminent.
Some of those arrested are understood to be British nationals.
The interesting point to these arrests is the emphasis police put on saying they are not related to the games, especially since some of the raids have been carried out in the vicinity of the Olympic village, writes Simon Israel.
I remember a fortnight ago the director General of MI5, Jonathan Evans said in a speech: "In back rooms and in cars and on the streets of this country there is no shortage of individuals talking about wanting to mount terrorist attacks here. We see them regularly in our intelligence investigations."
Today's arrests appear to be another example and it is unlikely we will find out in the near future what exactly triggered them.
The Olympics may not have been target, but they are the reason why the antennae are so finely tuned.
In a separate incident, part of the M6 toll motorway near Birmingham was closed following a “police-led incident”.
Armed officers responded to a genuine security alert from a concerned member of the public on board a coach travelling from Preston to London, according to Staffordshire Police.
“The information received concerned a report of vapour escaping from a bag which, on investigation, turned out to be a health improvement aid for smokers,” a spokesman said.