2:47pm UK, Wednesday March 15, 2006

Five men have been arrested over their alleged role in UK protests against cartoons satirising the Prophet Mohammed, Scotland Yard said.

Four of them are being held on suspicion of incitement to murder.

180 protests banner london muslim cartoon

Placards at the demonstration

All five are suspected of "using threatening words or written material to stir up racial hatred".

The arrests follow protests in London last month that saw demonstrators wave placards threatening repeats of the September 11 and July 7 terror attacks.

Four of the men were arrested at their London homes, in Tower Hamlets, Redbridge, Southall and Waltham Forest, and the other was held in the West Midlands.

They are all alleged to have taken part in the protests, which provoked 500 complaints.

Police are trying to identify 22 protesters who they think may have broken the law.

However, the only previous arrest was a 22-year-old man who dressed as a suicide bomber.

Omar Khayam was not charged, but was taken back to jail for or breaching the terms of his parole for possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply.

The cartoons, first published in Denmark, sparked riots around the world that led to dozens of deaths.