UK Police Charge Man With Terrorism After Arrest at Leeds Hospital

LONDON—British police on Thursday said a 27-year-old man has been charged with terrorism and other offenses after he was found last week with a suspicious device in the grounds of a hospital in Leeds, in northern England.

Mohammed Farooq from Leeds was charged with preparation of a terrorist act and possession of an explosive substance and an imitation firearm, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

Farooq, who was arrested last week, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, the CPS added.

Emergency services were called last Friday to St James’s Hospital in Leeds after a suspicious package was found outside the maternity wing. Some people had been evacuated from the area.

“We are satisfied that there is currently no evidence of an increased risk to the public, within our communities or the UK hospital estate, in connection with this investigation,” James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said in a statement.

Dunkerley said further enquiries since Farooq’s arrest had confirmed an initial assessment that it was an isolated incident.