police stansted airport
Police cars seen at Stansted Airport, Essex (representative image). Reuters

A 16-year-old boy from Kent has been arrested at London Stansted Airport on suspicion of terrorism offences.

Police say the teenager was held by counter-terrorism officers at around 4pm on Sunday (23 July) as he prepared to board an international flight.

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He was detained by officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, who were working with Counter Terrorism Policing South East.

Police did not reveal where in Kent the boy is from, simply saying he was detained on suspicion of collection of information that is likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Officers also did not reveal the destination country for his flight.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: "He is currently in police custody and was detained under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act."

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