Five men have been arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, southwest England, on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act. Around 85 households have been evacuated while three vehicles are examined.
Gloucestershire Police said the men were detained in the early hours of September 27 after a call about suspicious vehicles heading towards the base. They were later further arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism under section 5 of the Terrorism Act.
Officers were alerted at about 12.45am. A 400-metre cordon was placed around three white vans while the British Army’s explosive ordnance disposal team examined them.
Residents of Whelford, a village roughly two miles from the perimeter, were taken to a nearby leisure centre. Police said they believed the incident was contained.
Assistant chief constable Richard Ocone said work to establish the full nature of the incident was continuing. Neither Gloucestershire Police nor Counter Terrorism Policing has offered any account of what the men are suspected of intending, or connected them to any country or organisation.
Deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans, of Counter Terrorism Policing, said the investigation remained at an early stage. The five men were still in custody.
US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in Illinois, presented the arrests as the fruit of Anglo-American co-operation. “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them,” he said.
He added that the men had been under investigation and were looking to do “big damage”. British outlets including the BBC and The Telegraph reported, citing sources, that the operation was not intelligence-led and that a resident who saw men acting suspiciously beside the vans had alerted police.
Fairford is the only airfield in Europe from which the US Air Force flies heavy bombers, and American aircraft have used it since the 1950s. Then prime minister Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation in June, widened that access in March.
Security was reinforced at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in eastern England, where armoured vehicles and soldiers were posted at the gates. The US Embassy in London advised Americans in Britain to be mindful of their personal security.
British defence secretary Wes Streeting said the public could be reassured the situation was being handled. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who entered Downing Street in July, urged people not to speculate while the investigation continued.
A US Air Force spokesman said the 501st Combat Support Wing and other British-based wings remained vigilant. He said no American service personnel were involved in the incident.
