Britain announces record terror arrests

London

 British police made a record 299 terror arrests over the last 12 months, overtaking the previous highest level in the year of the London bombings in 2005.

 In the year to March, 299 people were detained for terrorism-related offences, an increase of 31 percent on the previous year, Home Office figures showed.

 It is the highest number since data collection began in September 2001.

 The previous record was 284, set in 2005 -- when four suicide bombers struck London's transport system on July 7 in coordinated attacks that killed 52 people.

 "In late 2010, the Arab Spring began, and throughout the years since the initial uprising, the number of terrorism-related arrests in Great Britain has seen a steady rise," said a ministry bulletin accompanying the data.

 The Home Office said there had been a "marked increase" in arrests of people with British or dual nationality since 2011. This coincides with the start of the Syrian civil war and the rise of Islamic State.

 Dual nationals and those who self-identified as British at the time of their arrest accounted for 78 percent of the total, compared with only 52 percent in 2011.

 Fifty-six of the arrests related to international-related terrorism - defined as "activities linked to or motivated by any terrorist group based outside the UK".

 Security Minister John Hayes said the government would ensure the security services had "the powers they need to protect the British public".

 New laws had already "bolstered our already considerable armoury of powers to disrupt the ability of people to travel abroad to fight, reduce the risks they pose on their return and combat the underlying ideology that feeds, supports and sanctions terrorism," he said.