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He was last night still under armed guard in the Royal London hospital in Whitechapel.

His brother, named as Abdul Koyair Kalam, 20, was being questioned at Paddington Green high security police station.

Police also raided the men’s work addresses, a post office sorting centre in Whitechapel and a Tesco store in Tottenham, last night where their lockers were searched.

Friends said they do not believe either would become involved in terrorist activity.

Government officials said both suspects had “extensive criminal records”. According to a well placed source, Kahar has previous convictions for theft, robbery, burglary and possession of a prohibited weapon involving a “noxious, liquid gas”, said to be CS spray.

Koyair was said to have convictions for burglary, two thefts and possession of a Stanley knife. Both men had spent time in youth offender institutes.

Security sources said MI5 had decided to act as soon as possible because of wider concerns that terrorists might be planning attacks to mark the first anniversary of last year’s July 7 bombings.

It emerged yesterday that the original intelligence which led to the operation appears to have been based on the testimony of an MI5 informant who had claimed to be an acquaintance of the men.

Both were already the subject of a low-level MI5 monitoring operation that did not involve bugging. But the surveillance was stepped up dramatically following the tip-off.

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The informant is said to have told his MI5 handler last month that during a conversation with the suspects he was told they were planning to fill a series of pouches with explosives.

A well placed source said: “There appears to have been a conversation that indicated an attack of some kind using some sort of cloth-based pouch or pouches. There was concern that this might be aimed to coincide with the anniversary of July 7.” The source said that there was no mention in this intelligence of the device being a “chemical weapon”.

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