West Midlands Police
West Midlands police Reuters

A man and woman from Berkshire were charged with preparing acts of terrorism in the UK on Thursday evening (4 June).

Mohammed Rehman, 24, from Reading and Sana Ahmed Khan, 23, from Wokingham, were arrested last Thursday (28 May).

The "pre-planned" operation was a joint action between officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit and the South East Counter Terrorism Unit.

The pair will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday (5 June), where Rehman also faces a further charge of possessing articles for terrorist purposes.

In a statement, West Midlands Police said the arrests were "intelligence led and made to safeguard public safety.

"However, the action taken was pre-planned and police assess that the pair did not pose any imminent threat to the UK.

"Following the arrests, their home addresses were searched and a number of items were removed for forensic examination."

Reading East MP Rob Wilson (Conservative), told getreading.co.uk last week: "I'd like to reassure my constituents that the police in Reading are on top of the situation and are working closely with counter-terrorist colleagues from the Midlands.

"Whilst it would not be right for me to comment about this in detail at this stage, I have every confidence in the actions taken so far."

In April, two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of preparing to travel to Syria to engage in terrorism.

The pair, both aged 17, were detained by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit at their home addresses on 21 April 21.

Anyone with information about possible terrorist activity can call the police Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.