28 April 2011 Last updated at 21:09 ET

Royal wedding: Three held over effigy beheading claims

Three people believed to be planning to behead effigies at the royal wedding have been arrested in London.

Two men, aged 68 and 45, and a woman, 68, were detained by police in Brockley, on Thursday night.

It is understood a guillotine was seized during the incident in Wickham Road. The suspects are being held at a south London police station.

The Met say they are held on "suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and breach of the peace".

"It is believed that those arrested were planning to attend the royal wedding," a spokesman said.

Police had warned earlier that officers would carry out pre-emptive operations to combat potential trouble on the royal wedding day.

The latest arrests came after three raids at suspected London squats, leading to 19 arrests, on Thursday.

Scotland Yard said the raids were not directly connected to the event, but had been brought forward because of the wedding.

However, Labour MP John McDonnell, who represents Hayes and Harlington in west London, said he believed they had been "disproportionate" and were simply a "pre-emptive strike".