UK police release five RAF Fairford suspects on bail, citing open investigation

Rubio says plot ‘clearly involved’ foreign actor; UK declines to name state

British Counter Terrorism Policing on Monday released five men arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack at RAF Fairford, the Cotswolds base the U.S. military uses to fly missions during its war with Iran. The men, all Britons aged 23 to 25 and from London, remain on strict police bail while investigators pursue multiple lines of inquiry, including possible foreign-state involvement.

The suspects were released under stringent conditions governing their movements and contacts, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said in a statement. Taylor stressed that the release did not mean the investigation was over.

“To be very clear, this does not mean the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry,” Taylor said.

Taylor said counterterrorism police were “keeping an open mind” and examining “every angle possible,” including the possibility that the activity near RAF Fairford over the weekend involved “proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.” He did not identify any state.

Hours after Taylor’s statement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that “what happened, what almost happened, what could’ve happened” at Fairford was a “very serious situation, one that clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor.” Rubio did not specify which foreign state he believed was responsible.

Rubio acknowledged disquiet over the release of the suspects but said he was otherwise satisfied with how Britain responded to what he called a “very serious threat,” thanking the British “for being on top of it.”

Without naming Iran directly, Rubio issued an indirect warning to Tehran. “We are dealing with elements in the world, and in the case of Iran, for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally, we’re always going to take that seriously, there’ll be repercussions for that if it ever were to happen, or even be attempted,” Rubio said.

The arrests followed an early-hours report Sunday from a Whelford resident about half a mile from the base who contacted authorities about masked and hooded men in vans. Taylor said counterterrorism police would always opt to mobilize immediately rather than wait to assess a potential threat.

About 85 households were evacuated from Whelford while bomb-disposal and forensic teams examined three vehicles used by the suspects. Residents were permitted to return Monday evening, but a 440-yard police perimeter remains at the scene.

Taylor described the broader threat picture as one of increasing scope and complexity, contrasting it with past threats that, “at first glance, often appeared to be low-level criminal activity” and were perpetrated by people “seeking a quick buck who may not be aware that what they are doing is terrorism.”

“It can be harder to spot, and to that end I would ask the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to police,” he said. Taylor apologized for being unable to share more, asking the public to understand that Counter Terrorism Policing works “hand in glove with MI5 to keep them safe from a myriad of threats.”

The base at RAF Fairford has been used by the United States to stage air operations during its war with Iran, a context Taylor acknowledged when he cited the “significant interest being generated amid the current geopolitical situation” as a reason for his detailed public statement.