The man sought by police at an armed siege in Newport, south Wales, is not in the area, police said. Officers had surrounded a house in the Maindee area of the city in the early hours of yesterday morning. It is believed the operation was linked to the shooting of PC Sharon Beshenivsky in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Gwent Police refused to discuss the nature of the operation, or how it had been discovered that the man was not in the area.