Britain's membership of the European Union contributes to its ability to fight terror plots, the Home Secretary has said.

Theresa May said access to important shared intelligence would be threatened if there was a vote to leave.

Membership of the EU also helped British police catch and extradite criminals, she told The Times shortly before the Brussels attacks.

Mrs May encouraged voters to consider the referendum issues broadly, but said on security, there were good reasons for the UK to be a member.

Given that a terrorist attack was highly likely, she said: "What's important is that we work with others to ensure that we can respond."

She also emphasised the importance of the European Arrest Warrant and the EU-wide Prum convention - which co-ordinates sharing DNA and fingerprints and Britain will gain access to if it does not vote to leave in June.

At the moment, finding a DNA match through Interpol takes an average of 143 days but through the Prum convention it will take just 15 minutes.

Mrs May described the programme as an "important tool to help exchange information that can lead to catching criminals" and said: "We are able to be part of those because we are in the European Union."

She dismissed claims that Britain could follow the model of Switzerland or Norway by saying they did not have access to crucial intelligence tools.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe echoed her comments by saying that leaving the EU would be a "chore and a bureaucratic nightmare".

He told The Times that an increased security risk during a two-year renegotiation period if there was a vote to leave would have to be addressed.