Burnham says there are 'strong indications' Iran was involved in RAF Fairford incident

What happened

Five British men were arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The BBC reports they are aged between 23 and 25, with four living in Westminster and one in Camden, while the Guardian simply describes them as men in their 20s from London. Police were alerted by a local woman who, driving home, spotted several vans and masked men near the base; she later told newspapers she was alarmed the men had managed to get so close without apparently being noticed. According to the BBC, one of the arrested men himself had called the emergency number 999 before the group's arrest.

The men were initially arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, and later for preparation of a terrorist act. Searches of the vans turned up a quantity of petrol but no improvised explosive devices. All five were released on bail on Monday, a decision police described as an "investigative decision" grounded in experience and strategy.

The Iran link

Speaking to the BBC after the Labour party conference in Liverpool, Burnham said: "There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford," adding that the investigation remains ongoing and complex. He gave no further details, saying he would not make such a claim lightly. Iran's embassy in London has rejected the allegations as "unfounded and malicious speculations."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier said the incident "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor" and said he was disturbed by the decision to release the men on bail. US President Donald Trump said he would have advised against granting bail and was surprised by the decision. Burnham responded that the release came with the strictest possible conditions and under close police control, and that the UK had spent the week briefing US counterparts on how the matter was being handled.

Background

RAF Fairford has been used as a forward operating base by the US Air Force for decades, and this year Britain approved its use for what it called "defensive" US strikes on Iran. In July, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any base used to attack Iran would become a "legitimate target." Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said investigators are examining every possible angle, including the possibility that the men acted as proxies for, or on behalf of, a foreign state, knowingly or not. Burnham convened a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee while in Liverpool, but said there is currently no urgent need to recall parliament.