UK defends police over bail decision in RAF Fairford plot as US voices concern
Five British men arrested over a suspected plot near the US-linked RAF Fairford airbase have been released on bail, prompting criticism from President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio while Labour defends the police's judgement.
British police are continuing to investigate a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, after five British men in their twenties, all from London, were arrested on Sunday. The men were released on bail on Monday, though police say they remain subject to strict conditions.
The arrests followed a report from a farmer driving home from a party, who said she saw men she believed were wearing balaclavas and who fled when her headlights caught them. An initial inspection of three vans raised suspicions of explosive material, but after the men's release it emerged no explosives had actually been found.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said the bail decision did not mean the investigation was over. Detectives are still examining a possible Iranian connection, including whether any of the men had been paid to gather in the village of Whelford, near the airbase.
US criticism
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News the incident clearly involved a "foreign actor," pointing to Iran's open threats against American interests. President Trump said his administration knew everything about the suspects and would not have released them, adding that a link to Iran was possible.
RAF Fairford has served as a base for US bombers involved in strikes on Iran, authorised earlier this year by then-prime minister Keir Starmer. In July, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that bases used by the US to strike Iran, including Fairford, were legitimate targets. Iran's embassy in London has rejected any suggestion of Iranian involvement in the arrests.
Labour's response
Speaking at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, deputy leader Lucy Powell declined to discuss details of the ongoing investigation, saying bail decisions are operational matters for police, not ministers, and expressed confidence in the force's judgement.
