Five British nationals arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and terrorism near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire have been released on police bail, police have confirmed. The men were detained on Sunday after three suspicious vans were found near the base, which is used by the United States Air Force.
Investigation continues under bail conditions
Speaking outside Scotland Yard on Monday, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said: “Following extensive interviews and inquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon.
“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.”
Open mind on motivation and foreign state links
Acknowledging speculation over whether Iran was behind the plot, Taylor said police are keeping an open mind, and one possibility could be proxies “either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state”. Iran, as well as other hostile states including Russia, has been known to use criminal proxies to carry out crimes on its behalf on UK soil.
Iran’s London embassy earlier said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” of Iranian involvement.
Taylor added: “I also know there is significant interest in whether the current geopolitical context has a bearing on this incident.” He stressed that police are considering the case “from every possible angle” and that protective security advice remains “commensurate to the threat”.
Cordon and evacuation details
Police hope to reduce the size of the cordon near RAF Fairford later on Monday, where dozens of homes have been evacuated as bomb disposal experts examined the vans. The five 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 were initially alerted to three suspicious vans travelling towards RAF Fairford at 12.45am on Sunday. A local farmer who spotted the vans and a group of masked men called 999 at 1.36am after failing to reach the Ministry of Defence police, and armed police arrived around 10 minutes later. She said the police had “dropped the ball”, telling journalists: “Who knew that a farmer would have to roll their sleeves up and report the activity?”
Political response
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told reporters the suspects were looking to “do big damage”. On Monday, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK must not be “cowed by sabre-rattling from Iran” while stressing it was “too early to attribute background aims”. Prime Minister Andy Burnham was set to hold a Cobra meeting on Monday afternoon “to make sure we have the full picture”, he told LBC.
