Counter-terror police investigate bomb threats sent to east London mosques

Bomb threat letters received by mosques in east London are being investigated by counter-terror police.

Handwritten notes have been received by the Forest Gate mosque, as well as the Coventry Cross mosque in Bromley-by-Bow and Shacklewell Lane mosque in Dalston.

Pictures of the letters, which have been posted online by campaign group Documenting Opperssion Against Muslims (DOAM), show similar handwriting and suggest they have been written by the same person.

Those sent to the Coventry Cross and Shacklewell Lane mosques state that the writer will be “visiting” or “coming to your mosque”, while the Forest Gate letter is more explicit, saying an “explosive device” would be left there.

A spokeswoman for the north east counter terrorism unit confirmed that the police “received a number of reports of malicious communications and packages which have been received in recent days across London”.

She continued: “Specialist officers attended these addresses and the contents of the packages were examined.

“In all cases, the substances were found not to be noxious or harmful.

“These incidents are now subject to an investigation coordinated by the north east counter terrorism unit with ongoing enquiries to identify the origin.

“We are looking into the possibility that the communications are linked to a number of suspicious packages and malicious communications reported at locations in London, south Yorkshire and America and are part of an ongoing investigation co-ordinated by the north east counter terrorism unit.”