At least five men were arrested on Sunday morning on suspicion of the “preparation of a terrorist act” near a British Royal Air Force (RAF) base in southern England. Armed officers arrested the group of men after calls from residents to emergency services reported three “suspicious vehicles which appeared to be travelling towards the air base”, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Calling the incident “deeply concerning”, United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government would take “every step necessary” to protect the public.
Based in Gloucestershire, RAF Fairford is a British military base that hosts the United States Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing. It is one of 12 UK bases, including RAF Lakenheath, which hosts the largest US force group in the UK and RAF Mildenhall, which supports refuelling and global operations. The Fairford base was also used by US forces during their attacks on Iran amid the ongoing conflict, during which they deployed B-1 and B-2 bombers.
In March, then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer granted permission for “defensive” US action against Iranian missile sites from two UK bases, including Fairford and Diego Garcia, in the British Indian Ocean Territory. On Sunday, Gloucestershire police said they received a call about “three suspicious vehicles” travelling towards the base at 00:45 local time ( on Saturday). Broadcast aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot moving around the vans, two of which had their rear doors open.
Police believed the incident had been “contained” and put a 400-metre (1,300-foot) cordon in place. A resident who called 999 told BBC Radio 4 on condition of anonymity that she arrived home in the nearby village of Whelford to find the driveway blocked and saw a “large group of hooded and masked men”. I then realised that something highly unusual was taking place,” she added.
The woman told the BBC that she called the Ministry of Defence police at the airbase, but there was no answer; after calling 999 at ( ), she said, “within 10 minutes the village was full of armed police”. About 85 households in the nearby village of Whelford were advised to evacuate. Those residents also spoke of “heightened tensions” in the area in recent weeks with frequent police patrols.
Not much is known about the five men arrested in the incident. Gloucestershire police said they initially arrested the men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act. But they were subsequently arrested on suspicion of the “preparation of a terrorist act”, the Metropolitan Police announced.
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