A man from Hertfordshire has been arrested at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of preparing terror acts.

Police confirmed today that a 44-year-old man was detained at the airport in Sussex yesterday for terror offences.

The man had arrived at the airport on a flight from Iraq.

Scotland Yard would not confirm where in Hertfordshire the man is from at this stage.

A spokesman from the Met Police Service Counter Terrorism Command said: “As a result of enquiries a decision was made to arrest the man under section 5 of the Terrorism Act – suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts.”

The man was arrested under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and taken to a central London police station yesterday where he remains in custody.