Plan to stab Queen stymied

Security has been tightened since the Queen walked through a commemorative ceramic poppy field at the Tower of London. Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth

Arrests made of British jihadists allegedly planning to kill monarch

A plot to kill the Queen has been foiled, according to the British Sun, which writes that four Islamic terror suspects aged between 19 and 27 have been arrested in armed police raids across West London and Buckinghamshire.

They were allegedly planning to stab Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Albert Hall during the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance yesterday, the paper said.

Police were last night continuing to question the men being were held on suspicion of being concerned in the "commission, preparation or instigation" of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.

The paper said the Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron were told of the threat.

The Queen was still planning to attend Remembrance Sunday celebrations at the Cenotaph in central London later today amid "unprecedented security".

Despite fears for her safety, she was determined to lead the nation's tribute and lay the first wreath, sources said.

Computers and documents seized from suspects' homes and were being examined.

Scotland Yard said: "These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investigation into Islamist-related terrorism.

"Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) are working closely with colleagues in the SE Counter Terrorism Unit and MI5." None of those arrested were believed to have direct links to Syria, but were suspected of being jihadists.

As well as the four arrests, a number of residential addresses and vehicles, in Greenford, Hounslow, Brentford and Walthamstow were searched.

The arrests and searches were part of an "ongoing investigation into Islamist related terrorism", police said.

In August, Home Secretary Theresa May raised Britain's terrorism threat level from "substantial" to "severe" - the second-highest of five possible threat levels - because of the danger posed by Islamic State (Isis) and al-Qaeda sympathisers.

This is not the first time the Queen's life has been threatened.

The Lithgow Plot was an assassination attempt on the Queen and Prince Philip during a royal tour in Australia in 1970.

Their train struck a large log that was allegedly placed on the tracks, but the train was travelling slowly, averting any crisis.

In 1981, 17-year-old Marcus Serjeant was jailed for five years after firing six blanks at the Queen before the Trooping the Colour ceremony. In 1982, Michael Fagan, 31, broke into Buckingham Palace and entered the Queen's bedroom. He was not charged with trespassing but spent the next six months in a psychiatric hospital.