Council social services bosses have halted attempts to take a Muslim terror suspect's five children into care, a High Court judge says.

Less than two months ago bosses had asked Mrs Justice Gwynneth Knowles to consider taking the youngsters, who are aged between 14 and six, from their parents' care.

Bosses' said the children's father was the subject of a Terrorist Prevention and Investigation Measure (TPim), a order which allows Home Office ministers to keep control of people who are believed to be involved in terrorism but who cannot be prosecuted or deported, and said their mother propagated extremist beliefs.

They told the judge how they feared that the children were "likely to adopt" their parents' "extremist and radical views" and said the youngsters' were suffering "significant emotional and psychological harm".

But bosses have changed their minds and Mrs Justice Knowles has given them permission to withdraw the "care proceedings" they had begun.

Detail has emerged in a ruling on the case published by the judge.

The judge, who had analysed evidence at a private hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London during June and July, has ruled that no-one involved in the case, including the council, can be identified.

Mrs Justice Knowles said lawyers representing council bosses had asked for permission to withdraw care proceedings during the hearing.

She said she had given her approval after concluding that the "forensic hurdles" faced by council bosses were "insurmountable".

"Put simply, the local authority could not evidence anything to suggest that there was a connection between the parents' alleged extremist beliefs and radicalisation and the way in which the children presented to social care, health and education professionals," said the judge.

"Despite three years of local authority involvement, since July 2015 when the local authority was told that the father was under investigation for terror offences, there was no evidence that the children held extremist beliefs or that they had been radicalised."

She added: "Given that the local authority could point to no evidence of the children having suffered significant emotional harm, the local authority would, in my view, have been unable to achieve a finding that there was a risk of significant harm on the evidence before the court."

Mrs Justice Knowles said the children's parents were separated.

Four children lived with their mother, one with the man.

She said the man had been accused of breaching the terms of his TPim and was due to go on trial later this year.

By Brian Farmer