The only suspected participant in the November 13 Paris attacks to be captured alive has been co-operating with police investigators and is “worth his weight in gold”, his lawyer said.

Soldiers patrolled the streets of Brussels on the third day of a security lockdown, as a suspected explosive belt was found dumped near Paris and the mobile phone of a fugitive believed to have taken part in the attacks on November 13 was detected in two locations in the city.

Shopping centres and public transport were the most likely targets of terrorists planning attacks on Brussels, Belgium’s prime minister Charles Michel said as he announced the city’s lockdown would remain in force today.

King Philippe I has become Belgium’s seventh monarch during a national holiday following the abdication of his father Albert.