Two young men have been arrested in west London by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command unit.

The force said the pair, aged 19 and 21, were detained on Tuesday morning, and are being held in custody while officers continue to search addresses in the area.

Commander Richard Smith, of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said police do not believe there is an immediate threat to the wider public, and urged anyone who may have seen suspicious activity to report it to police.

He said: “Based on inquiries by detectives so far, there was not believed to be any immediate threat posed to the public, and those arrested remain in custody.

“We are all aware that the UK National Threat Level has been raised from substantial to severe following events in Merseyside and we need to work together to defeat terrorism.

“The public as always, are our eyes and ears and nothing should stop you from reporting suspicions to the police.

“Every day, teams within the Met and across Counter Terrorism Policing nationally proactively investigate, identify and target those we suspect of being involved in terrorism.

“If you see or hear something in the course of your everyday life that doesn’t seem right, please trust your instincts and report it, as your information could be the key to stopping terrorist activity.”

The arrests were not linked to the Liverpool Women’s Hospital incident, police said.