Five men arrested over a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford are being released on police bail, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, has said.
The suspects, detained over the alleged plot near the RAF base used by the US, are all British nationals aged in their 20s and from London, police previously said. They were arrested in Whelford, Gloucestershire, in the early hours of Sunday, initially on suspicion of explosives offences and later terrorism.
Arrests and evacuation
A villager in Whelford dialled 999 after seeing three vans and a group of masked men near the base, and dozens of homes had to be evacuated as bomb disposal teams were called in.
Gloucestershire Constabulary were initially alerted to three suspicious vans travelling towards RAF Fairford at 12.45am on Sunday. The local farmer who spotted the vans and the masked men first called the Ministry of Defence police but got no answer, so called 999 at 1.36am, and armed police arrived around 10 minutes later.
Investigation and response
On Monday, Counter-Terrorism Policing (CTP) said that multiple new lines of inquiry had emerged after investigators worked at the scene overnight. CTP Senior National Coordinator, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, said: "This is a hugely complex and large-scale operation, involving local and national policing, the MoD, and local agencies, who are working together to progress the investigation and support for the community.
"I know this has been incredibly disruptive for local people, but I'd like to reassure them that our activity is in the interest of national security, but most importantly in the interest of their own safety."
Police are understood to be investigating whether any potential plot could be linked to Iran, which has used proxies to carry out crimes on British soil in the past. Iran's London embassy said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations" of Iranian involvement.
Suspects and wider context
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. A police cordon remains in place in Whelford and will be reviewed later today, CTP said.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told reporters the suspects were looking to "do big damage", while on Monday, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK must not be "cowed by sabre-rattling from Iran" or allow the country to "dictate our foreign policy", stressing it was "too early to attribute background aims". The police operation was not intelligence-led, meaning investigators had not known about any potential plot in advance, the Press Association (PA) understands.
A pensioner living nearby described an apparent increase in Fairford's security in recent weeks, telling PA that heavy tractor-like vehicles had been parked and concrete walls laid behind the gates. Aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot spending hours inspecting three white vans, two of which had open rear doors, with large black barrels scattered around.
Investigators will now work to analyse any devices seized from those arrested to establish details of any plot and any potential motivation. The arrests come amid heightened concerns around the threat from hostile states to the UK, with Russia and Iran among those that have used proxies to commit crimes on their behalf. In March, officials said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states including Iran had increased 50% in the six months to December 2025.
