Gavin Grey: UK Correspondent on two counter terrorism investigations in the UK and thousands of people at risk of losing hot water

Eight men have been arrested in two separate counter-terrorism UK police investigations. 

Five people were arrested at various locations around England on Saturday as part of a "pre-planned" investigation into a plot to "target a specific premises."

Three other men, all Iranian, were arrested in London on Saturday as part of a separate counter-terror police investigation. 

UK Correspondent Gavin Grey talks to Ryan Bridge about the investigations. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right now, Gevin Gray in the UK for US givin
good morning. Hither are now eight men arrested over a
suspected TIRA plot involving a target, a specific target. Do
we know what it was?

Speaker 2 (00:13):
No, we're not being told that. We do know that
of the eight, seven are Iranian nationals. Now, it's a
combination of two different police operations going on around the UK,
A gang of three, it said, being arrested in and
around London, but also five others arrested at various locations
around England. Part they're saying of a pre planned investigation

(00:36):
into an alleged plot too, as you said, target a
specific premises. Now, all five who were arrested around the
country were arrested on suspicion appropriation of an act of terrorism.
In the second operation, the three men aged between thirty
nine and fifty five were arrested under the National Security
Act at different addresses. What's interesting about this ran, you

(00:58):
might think, well, Iranian nationals in the UK. Well, that
is a common thread to what's going on here, because
just last year the director general of mi I five
said his organization and police have responded to twenty Iran
backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens in
UK residents since January of twenty twenty two, so twenty

(01:19):
plots over a period of just over two and a
half years. When he said that, and that, I think
goes some way to show you just where MI I
five is getting so busy.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Absolutely, Now, what's the problem with your heating or potential
problem with your heating?

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, So, in the nineteen eighties, meters were fitted to
effectively switch between peak and off peak use of electricity,
because of course off peak is cheaper. However, these so
called RTS Radio Teleswitching System meters were replaced eventually by
smart meters, although frankly many people don't trust those in

(01:54):
their home either. Anyway, this old technology is going to
be switched off on the thirtieth of June, but it's
estimated by some in the industry that there are still
four hundred and thirty thousand households using RTS meters for
their heating and hot water, and only one thousand are
being replaced each day. So by doing the maths, thinking
this has to be done by the thirtieth of June,

(02:15):
there's simply going to be nowhere near hitting the number
of households that they need to do in order to
get these people's monitors basically updated. And they're saying there
is a very real risk that once this system is
switched off, this long wave radio frequency system, then that
could mean that people are left without hot water or heating.

(02:36):
It is our summer, so that should be okay, but
it's going to be pretty inconvenient for many people, all.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Right, Devin, Good to have you on. Devin Gray, our
UK correspondent.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
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