British Airways has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia until further notice in response to a specific terrorist threat to its planes in the country.

The threat became apparent in the last 24 hours but is not thought to be related to the missile arrests in the US, said BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner.

Air travellers from the United States and Britain have been alerted to the possibility of attack if they go to Saudi Arabia.

The alerts came after intelligence reports were relayed to Washington and London by the Saudis of a specific threat to British airlines flying in or out of Riyadh international airport