FOUR MEN AND A WOMAN ARRESTED IN BRITAIN

Five people have been arrested by British terror police as police investigate reports that one of the suspected Brussels jihadists travelled to the UK.

A 26-year-old was arrested at Gatwick Airport, West Sussex, in the early hours of Friday morning following the arrests of three men and a woman on Thursday evening by West Midlands Police.

Officers arrested three men, aged 26, 40 and 59, and a 29-year-old woman in Birmingham - a city which was visited by men involved in attacks on both Paris and Brussels.

Sources said today that the arrests were linked to an investigation into Mohamed Abrini, known as the 'man in the hat', who was caught on camera with the Brussels airport bombers.

He is believed to have travelled to Birmingham in July last year and taken photos of a soccer stadium, eight months before allegedly taking part in the attacks on the Belgian capital.

West Midlands Police refused to give details of the investigation, but said there was no evidence that Britain was facing attack from the suspected terrorists who were arrested today.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale said that police and security agencies had worked with France and Belgium to uncover threats to the UK after attacks on Paris and Brussels.

He added: 'This action forms part of an extensive investigation by West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, together with the wider counter terrorism network, MI5 and international partners including Belgian and French authorities to address any associated threat to the UK following the attacks in Europe.

'The arrests were pre-planned and intelligence led. There was no risk to the public at any time and there is no information to suggest an attack in the UK was being planned.'

Police declined to give any further details but a security source confirmed the arrests were linked to the suicide bombings in Brussels which killed 32 people last month and November's attacks in Paris which left 130 people dead.

A British security insider told NBC News that the UK investigation was centred on Abrini, while the Associated Press said it resulted from an investigation of the suspect's mobile phone.

Another source told AP that Abrini made several journeys to Birmingham last year to meet suspected terrorists, adding that his associates had been under surveillance since the Paris atrocities.

Belgian officials refused to give further details about the arrests, but said in a statement: 'The federal prosecution office wishes to emphasise the good collaboration with the British authorities.'

The ease with which Abrini was able to slip in and out of the UK and take potential reconnaissance pictures of targets was considered a cause for alarm after the bloodbath in Paris.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected planner of the Paris attacks who was killed by French police late last year, is also believed to have visited Birmingham last October.

He also had photographs of places in the city on his smartphone, including shopping centres and football stadiums, and it has sparked concern that he may have been visiting fellow jihadis in Britain.

The police said in December that they were taking links between the Paris attackers and Birmingham 'deadly seriously' after the photos emerged.

Police did not reveal exactly what venues were pictured on the men's phones, but it led to concerns they may be working with a terrorist cell of jihadis in Britain. 

The city contains numerous stadiums, including Edgbaston, where the England cricket team play, along with Villa Park, with 42,000 seats, where Aston Villa play their Premier League games.

The city is also home to the National Exhibition Centre and the Bull Ring, a shopping centre which attracts in excess of 30million visitors every year and was once the busiest in Britain.

Asked about Abaaoud in parliament last month Home Secretary Theresa May said: 'This is obviously an ongoing investigation, and we are working very closely with the Belgian authorities to ascertain as much information as possible about the individuals involved.'

The four men, aged 40, 59 and two aged 26, and the 29-year-old woman are now being questioned by counter-terrorism detectives and police are also searching several properties in Birmingham.

All five suspects are currently held in the West Midlands while police search a number of properties as part of terrorism investigations.

It is not yet clear if the man arrested at Gatwick was in a terminal building. The man had reportedly just flown in to Britain from North Africa, according to the BBC.