UPDATED 13.15pm: Fourteen Londoners, one as young as 17, have been named as suspects over the alleged plot to blow up planes in mid-flight.

The Bank of England named 19 suspects, also including four from High Wycombe, whose assets they were ordered to freeze on the advice of police.

Meanwhile home secretary John Reid said Britain is to stay at its highest threat level of "critical" as police investigate what could have been Britain's 9/11. It was "a precautionary measure to protect the public", he explained.

UNDER SUSPICION
The Bank of England froze the assets of the following men:

  • Abdula Ahmed Ali, 25, Walthamstow, London
  • Cossor Ali, 23, London E17
  • Shazad Khuram Ali, 26, High Wycombe
  • Nabeel Hussain, 22, London E4
  • Tanvir Hussain, 25, Leyton, London E10
  • Umair Hussain, 24, London E14
  • Umar Islam, 28, High Wycombe
  • Waseem Kayani, 29, High Wycombe
  • Assan Abdullah Khan, 21, London E17
  • Waheed Arafat Khan, 25, London E14
  • Osman Adam Khatib, 19, London E17
  • A 17-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, London E5
  • Tayib Rauf, 22, Birmingham
  • Muhammed Usman Saddique, 25, Walthamstow, London E17
  • Assad Sarwar, 26, High Wycombe
  • Ibrahim Savant, 25, London E17
  • Amin Asmin Tariq, 24, Walthamstow, London E17
  • Shamin Mohammed Uddin, 36, Stoke Newington, London
  • Waheed Zaman, 22, London E17

Officials believe terrorists aimed to bring down several UK to US flights with liquid explosives hidden in drink bottles and detonators disguised in electronic gadgets.

Police arrested 24 suspects in the north and east of London, High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire and Birmingham.

Under anti-terror laws, police can question the suspects for up to 28 days before deciding whether to charge or release them.

"We think that the main suspects are in custody, but we always err on the side of caution," Dr Reid said this morning. ""We can never be certain."

American government sources claimed five suspects were still on the run.

Officials in Pakistan said they arrested two British citizens of Pakistani origin over the alleged plot in Lahore and Karachi last week. Yesterday the Middle-Eastern country announced it had made several further arrests in connection with the investigation.

Dr Reid said he was "grateful" for international help, in particular from Pakistan, in thwarting the alleged plot.

Yesterday Met deputy commissioner Paul Stephenson said the terror plans would have caused "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".

Another day of travel chaos is expected with draconian security measures still in place. No carry-on luggage is allowed on planes, expect for the barest essentials like passports, wallets and keys.

Transport secretary Douglas Alexander said the situation "remains difficult, but is getting better". Despite "very considerable delays" at Heathrow, all but a few long-haul flights and at least 60% of short-haul flights were operating today, he said. At Gatwick, too, most flights were restored.

Yesterday more than 400,000 passengers were affected by long delays at airports across Britain, with Heathrow and Gatwick worst hit. Queues snaked outside terminals as Britiah Airways cancelled 400 flight, EasyJet 300 and RyanAir 46.

Sometimes the fight against terrorism meant "staying calm at the end of a very long check-in queue," Mr Alexander said. He thanked passengers for their patience. "The worst instincts of a tiny minor have brought forth the best instincts of the vast majority."

Today the National Aviation Security Committee, which includes airline chiefs, airport bosses and the government, will meet to decide how long the hand luggage restrictions will stay in place.

"The heightened level of security will only last as long as the situation demands," the transport secretary said.

Another meeting of Cobra, the cabinet's emergency commitee, will also take place today to review the situation, the home secretary confirmed.

Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, said police advised that financial action were to be taken against the suspects.

"The Treasury has instructed the Bank of England to issue notices to effect a freeze of the assets of a number of individuals arrested in yesterday's operations," he said.

Under a terrorism order of the United Nations, it would now be an offence for banks to make the suspects' money available without permission from the Treasury.

Searches are still underway at several addresses, including four houses in High Wycombe and five in Walthamstow, east London.

The home secretary appealed to all British people for "common purpose and common solidarity" in the face of a "common threat".

"More than ever we have to draw on the tolerance end resilience of all parts of our community in the days ahead," Dr Reid said.