Four remanded over terror charges

Four men have been remanded in custody accused of terror-related offences after raids in Greater Manchester.

Israr Malik, 21, of Fallowfield, Manchester, is charged with intending to commit acts of terrorism.

Matthew Newton, 27, of Stalybridge and Haris Farooqi, 26, of Levenshulme, Manchester are accused of assisting others to commit acts of terrorism.

Munir Farooqi, 52, of Longsight, also faces terror charges. All of them appeared in court in London.

They are due to appear at the Old Bailey on 4 December.

Munir Farooqi, Haris Farooqi's father, was charged with three counts of soliciting or encouraging another to murder on 6 July, 15 October and 16 October this year.

Protest at raids

He also faces charges of assisting others to commit acts of terrorism.

The four men appeared before the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London.

Unarmed officers from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit detained the men last Monday in what was described as a "low-key operation".

It followed a 15-month investigation into alleged terrorist activity overseas.

A 62-year-old, who was arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences has been released without charge. He is understood to be a Muslim cleric from Bolton.

About 120 people took part in a protest over the raids outside Greater Manchester Police's headquarters on Sunday.

A force spokesman said it recognised the community had some concerns regarding the investigation.