Five men arrested following a major security operation near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire are being released on police bail while counter-terrorism officers continue investigating the incident.
The five, all said to be UK nationals aged between 23 and 25 from London, were initially detained on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and were subsequently arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. They have not been publicly named.
The investigation began after Gloucestershire Police received a report of three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RAF Fairford shortly after midnight on Sunday. The men were later arrested near Whelford, a village immediately east of the airbase.
A bomb disposal team was deployed and a 400-metre cordon established while vehicles at the scene were examined. Counter Terrorism Policing said the three vehicles underwent “extensive examination” with assistance from military and forensic specialists.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators were pursuing “multiple lines of inquiry”. These include examining whether proxies or people knowingly or unknowingly acting on behalf of a foreign state may have been involved.
The men are being released under what Taylor described as “stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others” while the investigation remains ongoing.
The incident followed reports from a local resident who said she encountered three white vans blocking the road and driveway near Whelford and saw a “large group of hooded and masked men”. She said some of the group fled into a field while others moved towards the neighbouring village of Kempsford.
The woman contacted emergency services and said armed police arrived within approximately ten minutes of her 999 call. “I believe that my 999 call foiled whatever plans they had,” she said, although Defence Secretary Wes Streeting later said she had only a “partial picture” of events.
The security operation also resulted in the evacuation of 85 households. Emergency accommodation was arranged for residents unable to stay with relatives or friends while authorities continued work at the scene.
Questions have also arisen over the three white vans found near the base. Images showed one carrying “Fuel 2You” branding, but checks found no evidence that this was a legitimate UK company. A similarly named diesel delivery business, Fuel2U, said the vehicles had no connection with it.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would chair a Cobra meeting on the incident and urged the public “not to speculate while the authorities establish the full facts”. Streeting similarly declined to speculate about possible Iranian involvement, while saying generally that Britain was aware of threats from Iran and its proxies.
The Iranian embassy in London rejected suggestions linking Tehran to the incident, describing them as “unfounded and malicious speculations” and saying such claims would fuel “Iranophobia propaganda in the UK”.
RAF Fairford has long been used by the United States Air Force and has previously hosted American strategic bombers. More recently, the base was used in connection with US strikes on Iranian capabilities.
