UK arrests two Latvian men at RAF Molesworth under National Security Act

Arrest comes days after US pulled B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford

Two Latvian men were arrested in the early hours of Thursday inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth, a Cambridgeshire base used by the US military and NATO for intelligence operations, the UK’s counter-terrorism command has confirmed.

The men, aged 32 and 36, were detained at 2am after an investigation that began four hours earlier when military police discovered an abandoned vehicle outside the facility. Soon after, military police, helped by officers from Cambridgeshire police, located a small hole in the perimeter fence before finding and arresting the suspects. Both men are Latvian nationals currently resident in the UK.

The men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and causing criminal damage. They were then further detained on suspicion of an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 — entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.

Counter-terror police are now leading the investigation, given the nature of the incident. Cmdr Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing London, said investigators were keeping an open mind about the men’s motivation and that the inquiry was at an early stage.

“Our investigation into this incident is at its very early stages,” Flanagan said. “A big part of this is looking at any potential motivation as to why the men were present at the site, but I must stress we are keeping an open mind at this stage and inquiries are very much ongoing.”

Flanagan said there was nothing at this stage to suggest a connection to last month’s incident near RAF Fairford, a Gloucestershire base from which the US recently withdrew B-1 bombers over concerns about a possible Iran-directed attack.

The abandoned vehicle found outside RAF Molesworth was taken to a nearby police location. Initial searches led officers to call in explosives specialists to carry out further checks. A police cordon was briefly imposed on part of the A1 south of Peterborough and around the village of Glatton, but nothing of concern was found. Officers are searching two addresses in the Peterborough area in connection with the investigation. Both men remain in police custody.

RAF Molesworth is home to NATO’s Intelligence Fusion Centre, which provides military intelligence to the alliance, and to the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe, which provides a similar service for the US military’s European command. The base does not host elements of US Central Command, which is responsible for Iran.