Police continue investigating motive after base perimeter breach
Two Latvian nationals have been released on bail after being arrested inside RAF Molesworth, a Cambridgeshire base used by the US military and Nato for intelligence operations. The men, aged 32 and 26, were arrested at 2am on Thursday after military police found a small hole in the base’s perimeter fence. They face suspicion of an offence under Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023, namely entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.
The investigation had begun roughly four hours earlier. Military police found an abandoned vehicle near the facility at around 10pm on Wednesday, then identified the breach in the fence before locating and arresting the two men inside the base. Officers from Cambridgeshire police joined the military police response.
Both suspects are Latvian nationals currently resident in the UK. They were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and causing criminal damage, then further arrested on suspicion of a Section 4 offence.
The pair have since been released on bail with strict conditions, the police said, as the investigation continues. Officers have carried out two searches at addresses in the Peterborough area in connection with the inquiry, and the abandoned vehicle has been taken to a nearby police location.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the force was “very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites,” but that there was nothing from their investigation so far to suggest a connection to an incident near RAF Fairford in September.
“Our investigation continues and we are working closely with colleagues from the Ministry of Defence police and Cambridgeshire constabulary on this,” Flanagan said. “A key line of inquiry remains to identify any potential motivation behind why the men were at that location, and this includes whether it may be connected to any criminal activity.”
RAF Molesworth, located west of Huntingdon, is home to Nato’s Intelligence Fusion Centre and the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe. The arrests come amid heightened public scrutiny of UK military sites in recent weeks, though police have said investigators have found no evidence so far linking the two cases.