Counter-terrorism police are continuing to investigate a suspected terror plot near an RAF base after five suspects were released on bail. The five British nationals were taken into custody on suspicion of explosives offences and terrorism on Sunday after three vans were found near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a base used by the US to carry out strikes against Iran.
Bail release and ongoing inquiry
Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a Cobra meeting on Monday evening "to make sure we have the full picture," he told LBC. Police have said the material found was not viable explosives but added that an investigation is ongoing.
Laurence Taylor, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said: "Following extensive interviews and inquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail. To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry."
Foreign state speculation
Mr Taylor acknowledged speculation over whether Iran was behind the incident and said one possibility could be proxies "either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state." Iran, Russia and other hostile states have been known to use proxies to carry out attacks on their behalf on UK soil.
Iran's London embassy has "categorically rejected" and "strongly condemned the recent unfounded and malicious speculations" of involvement in the plot, however.
Suspects and police response
The suspects are a 24-year-old from Camden, north London, three men aged 23, 24 and 25 from Westminster, central London, and one aged 24 from Willesden, north-west London.
Gloucestershire Constabulary was first alerted to three suspicious vans travelling towards RAF Fairford at 12.45am on Sunday. The local farmer who spotted the vans and group of masked men called the Ministry of Defence Police but had no answer, so called 999 at 1.36am, and armed police arrived around 10 minutes later.
Residents evacuated from around 85 households were able to return home on Monday, but a cordon remained in place around the vehicles as counter-terrorism officers continue to monitor the scene.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News the suspected terror plot "clearly involves the hand of a foreign actor" and described it as a "very serious situation" on Monday. He added that "a lot of people are disturbed" following the suspects' release, with President Donald Trump also claiming to have been "surprised" that the group was freed.
