Royal Marine Ciarán Maxwell charged with terror offences

A Royal Marine, originally from Larne, has been charged with a number of Northern Ireland-related terrorism offences.

Ciarán Maxwell, 30, is a serving member of the British armed forces and was arrested last Wednesday in Somerset, as part of a planned raid.

The soldier is to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Friday, facing charges including assisting in the manufacture of explosives, hiding bombs and bomb-making devices, procuring the necessary parts, as well as having an image of an adapted PSNI identification card and items of PSNI uniform.

Maxwell was detained by officers in the Metropolitan Police Service's counter terror division in a joint operation with colleagues from Avon and Somerset and Devon and Cornwall Police.

Officers have carried out searches in Exminster, while further investigations Devon police and by the PSNI in Larne are ongoing.