London: London counter-terrorism officers said yesterday they had carried out a raid on three premises linked to a radical Muslim group, shortly after the organisation, which had planned a demonstration to disrupt Armistice Day ceremonies, was banned.
The properties, connected to Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) and its leading figure Anjem Choudary, were raided late on Thursday night following the decision by Home Secretary Theresa May to make support of the group a criminal offence.
"At 11pm last night, officers from the Counter Terrorism Command executed three search warrants under the Terrorism Act 2000 at addresses in east London," a London police spokesman said yesterday.
"These searches concluded at 5.30am this morning." There were no arrests he said.
Choudary said his house and a community centre where the group used to teach in Whitechapel were two of the targets.
"It's a fishing expedition at the end of the day, they've got nothing on me. I haven't done anything illegal," he told Reuters. "Obviously it's inconvenient, but that doesn't stop me propagating what I believe."