Sky News came to an unexpected halt as it issued a major update from the Metropolitan police following the arrest of a man charged with assisting Iran’s intelligence service. On Friday morning (July 17), hosts Anna Jones and Kamali Melbourne returned to the helm to discuss the latest stories making headlines. But minutes into their morning programme, they brought the show to a standstill by issuing an update from Birmingham.
Mr Melbourne began: “I want to give you a line of breaking news from the Metropolitan Police. They are saying that a 39-year-old man has been charged with a National Security Act offence following a proactive investigation by the Counter Terrorism Police. They say this individual was arrested on Wednesday, July 15, in Birmingham on suspicion of an offence under Section Three of the National Security Act, assisting a foreign intelligence service, and they say that the country is Iran.”
Ms Jones went on: “This is Vahid Aberi, of Liverpool, who police say was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, and they say he’s been remanded in custody. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court later today.” The individual was taken to a police station in the West Midlands, with detectives later carrying out searches at properties in Birmingham and Liverpool.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “We have seen a significant and sustained increase in the tempo of our work in national security investigations in recent years. This case is yet another example of where we’ve intervened to disrupt suspected activity linked to foreign intelligence services.
“While we can’t comment in detail on the allegations now that a man has been charged, I do want to reassure the public that we have not identified any direct threat to them nor any threat towards a community or individual in connection with this investigation.”
It comes after the UK economy returned to growth in May, although the recovery remained subdued, with rising prices and supply chain disruptions stemming from the conflict in Iran continuing to weigh on activity. Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product (GDP) rose by a modest 0.1% in May, following a 0.1% contraction in April.
The meagre growth in May was driven by a 0.3% rise in the all-important services sector, which was partly offset by falls of 0.5% in production and 0.8% in construction, according to the ONS. The latest figures suggest the economy has lost momentum after a stronger-than-expected start to the year.
GDP grew by 0.3% in March before contracting in April – the first monthly decline in eight months – as the impact of the Iran war filtered through to the economy. In the three months to May, GDP rose 0.7%, up from an upwardly revised 0.8% in the three months to April.
The ONS said businesses across a range of industries, including manufacturing, hospitality, travel and entertainment, reported that the conflict in the Middle East had affected activity. “A common theme of comments received by the monthly business survey was disruption in global supply chains because of the conflict in Iran,” according to the ONS.
