Briton arrested in Pakistan is ‘key’ bomb plot suspect

THE extent of the Pakistan connection to the alleged airliner bomb plot was revealed last night after officials there announced the arrest of two British nationals and described one as a “key” suspect.

As Scotland Yard detectives prepared to question 24 people in custody in Britain, the Pakistani authorities identified Rashid Rauf as one of seven people held in Karachi and Lahore.

Its foreign ministry also said there were indications of an “Afghanistan-based al-Qaida connection” to the alleged plot to blow up transatlantic passenger jets in mid-flight.