A SCIENTIST at the giant CERN European particle lab has been arrested on suspicion of having links to terrorist organisations in Algeria, it emerged today.

A SCIENTIST at the giant CERN European particle lab has been arrested on suspicion of having links to terrorist organisations in Algeria, it emerged today.

The European Nuclear Physics Organisation said the physicist, who has not been named, was arrested yesterday by French police.

The lab said today the man was working under contract with an outside institute and had no contact with anything that could have been used for terrorism.

CERN specialises in high-energy particle physics and has been working for years to build the world's biggest atom smasher.