Knifemen held at Stansted

Two men carrying knives in their hand luggage were today stopped from boarding a passenger plane at Stansted Airport, Essex Police said.

The men were trying to board a Ryanair flight to Oslo in Norway.

It was not yet known if they were known to each other or if they had any links to terrorism.

A total of six men were stopped from boarding the plane as a result of the finds.

The first man stopped, who was a British national, was found to have a small knife in his hand luggage when it was put through the scanner.

He was prevented from boarding the plane, a Boeing 737-800, and a second man was then found to have a lock-knife - a folding knife - in his hand luggage.

The second man, said to be "of Eastern origin", was also stopped from boarding the plane.

Police could not confirm if he was from the Middle or Far East, but said he was travelling as part of a group of five.

A man who was trying to board at the same time was stopped from getting on to the plane and the other three people in the group, who had already gone through the scanner, were also prevented from flying.

The Ryanair plane, which was due to leave Stansted at 7am to fly to Torp Airport in Oslo, was delayed while their luggage was unloaded but has now departed.

Police said there was nothing to suggest that the two men found with knives knew each other.

They were continuing their investigations, including checking the men's backgrounds.

The finds come amid heightened security fears as the second anniversary of the September 11 terrorist atrocities approaches.