Terrorism control order men abscond

Scotland Yard took the unprecedented step of naming the trio and releasing photographs after they failed to report to police this week.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said they were trying to establish the whereabouts of brothers Lamine and Ibrahim Adam, aged 26 and 20, and 24-year-old Cerie Bullivant. "I am asking members of the public who actually see these men not to approach them, but to call 999 immediately," he added.

Lamine and Ibrahim Adam are the brothers of 25-year-old Anthony Garcia, who was jailed last month for his part in the so-called "fertiliser bomber" plot to attack targets in the capital and across the UK.

They are among six individuals now known to have gone missing while under control orders, which impose a loose form of house arrest on those suspected of involvement with international terrorism.

Whitehall sources insisted that in terms of threat the men were at the "lower end" of those subject to orders, so restrictions on their movements were less severe. However, shadow home secretary David Davis said it was shocking that more suspects had been able to flout the control orders.

A Home Office spokeswoman said Mr Reid would be making a written statement to the Commons on Thursday giving more details of the situation.

Those subject to control orders have previously remained anonymous at the behest of the courts, but for the first time Scotland Yard requested this was waived in order to track them down.

"The Home Secretary, on police operational advice, today approached the High Court requesting that anonymity be lifted in order to assist with their investigation," the Home Office spokeswoman added.

Mr Clarke, the Met's terror chief, said the trio had committed a serious crime by breaching the control orders imposed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. The Adam brothers failed to telephone the company responsible for monitoring them on Monday evening, while Bullivant did not report to his local police station on Tuesday morning. "We know that Lamine Adam, Ibrahim Adam and Cerie Bullivant are associates and may well be together," Mr Clarke said.