Fifth man held after "death threats on Brown"

LONDON (Reuters) - A fifth man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, police said on Wednesday, following what media reports have called a series of Internet threats to assassinate Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The latest arrest was that of a 29-year-old man in Derby on Tuesday, Greater Manchester Police said.

Officers are searching the address where the man was arrested and are expected to remain there for several days.

A 25-year-old man was arrested in Blackburn early on Tuesday, following the arrests of three men at Manchester Airport on August 14. All five remain in custody.

Tuesday's arrests were part of a joint investigation between the Lancashire police force and the Greater Manchester Counter-Terrorism Unit.

The Guardian newspaper said on Wednesday the arrests followed threats on an extremist website, by a previously unknown group called al Qaeda in Britain, to kill Brown and his predecessor Tony Blair.

It said there appears to be no evidence so far that there was ever any plot to carry out the threats.

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(Reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Steve Addison)