PM threat suspect 'white convert'

The 24-year-old was arrested in Blackburn, Lancashire, under the Terrorism Act 2006.

He is the fourth member of a suspected terror cell from the town held by detectives in the past fortnight.

A police source said officers were investigating threats to kill Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

It is understood no actual plot was in place but that officers discovered a written threat on an extremist jihadi website earlier this year.

Two Asian men in the Whalley Range area of Blackburn said the man was once married.

Councillor Iftakhar Hussain added: "Someone told me he's been arrested. He's a white male, he's dressed in the kind of Muslim wear. He's a Muslim convert but he doesn't attend a local mosque."

The latest arrest came after a dawn raid on a flat behind a halal butcher's shop where locals said the man lived alone. Specialist counter-terrorism officers spent the day examining the flat.

The fourth terror arrest comes 12 days after police arrested three men, aged 21, 22 and 23. Two were arrested at Manchester Airport as they were about to board a flight to Finland. A third man was held in Accrington, Lancashire.

Police have until Thursday to charge, release or seek an extension to the trio's custody.