By Toby Shepheard
FAIRFORD, England, Sept 27 (Reuters) – British police arrested five men near a US air base on suspicion of explosive and terrorism offences on Sunday after a tip-off that three vans had been heading to the military airfield which has been used to strike Iran.
US President Donald Trump said the suspects had been looking to do “big damage” and had been under investigation by British and US authorities.
British counter terrorism detectives leading the investigation said police had received a call about three suspicious vehicles which appeared to be travelling towards RAF Fairford in the west of England in the early hours of Sunday.
Five men were arrested by armed officers and later held on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act. Police said they believed the incident was now contained.
POLICE WORKING TO UNDERSTAND CIRCUMSTANCES
“We are in the early stages of an investigation, and five men remain in custody,” Counter Terrorism Policing Senior National Coordinator Vicki Evans said in a statement.
“As you would expect we are working closely with our partners to understand the circumstances of the incident.”
Police said a 400-metre cordon was in place around the base as the bomb disposal unit investigated the vans. Local residents in 85 homes in a nearby village were evacuated and armed officers were patrolling the site.
The British government, which has given authorisation to the US to use bombers based at Fairford to strike Iranian missile sites that were attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was being updated on the incident.
Burnham thanked the police and armed forces, saying on X: “I know today’s incident near RAF Fairford will be deeply concerning for local residents and for many people following developments across the country”.
Britain said in July its armed forces were ready to protect the country from any attack after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned it not to allow US bombers to fly from Fairford, saying any base used to launch attacks would be a legitimate target.
Police have not said who they believed was involved in Sunday’s alleged incident. An Iranian-linked motive is considered the most likely, a source familiar with the investigation said, while a Russian sabotage operation or an Islamist plot are also being looked at.
“The arrest in the UK was fantastic,” Trump told reporters, saying it was “an amazing job”.
“We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our port and working with the British worked out great … We had them under view for a long time, and we got them,” Trump added.
On Sunday morning the base was blocked by armed police while large machinery also prevented access and Reuters witnesses said security had been increased at other bases used by the US, with armoured vehicles and soldiers at the gates of RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in eastern England.
DECLARATION OF A MAJOR INCIDENT
“A cordon is in place as a precaution and the public can expect to see an emergency services presence in the area for some time,” Gloucestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone told reporters
The Daily Mail website carried a photograph of five men without shirts who it said had been arrested.
A spokesperson for the US Air Force declined to discuss specific force protection measures.
“The 501st Combat Support Wing and our fellow UK-based Wings remain vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, civilians, contractors, and their families,” the spokesperson said.
“We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families.”
British ministers have also previously briefed providers of critical infrastructure on the threat posed by Russia, with the government increasingly concerned about possible sabotage operations and cyberattacks.
Russia denies mounting hybrid attacks on Western nations.
A British military air base in central England was broken into in June 2025 by the Palestine Action protest group, which has since been proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
(Reporting by Toby Shepheard and Andrew MacAskill; writing by Kate Holton, Elizabeth Piper and Michael Holden; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Elaine Hardcastle and Alexander Smith)
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