New Arrest Widens Inquiry Into Suspected Plot Near RAF Fairford
Counter-terrorism police have arrested a 27-year-old dual UK-Iranian national in Westminster in connection with the investigation into a suspected plot near RAF Fairford. The Guardian
The man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. That section covers getting ready for terrorism, so police can intervene before an attack happens. Officers searched two properties in Westminster. A second man, aged 26 and a UK national, has been questioned under caution in the same inquiry, meaning he was interviewed but not arrested.
The steps follow the detention of five men in their 20s in Whelford, Gloucestershire, outside RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday. Police had been alerted to suspicious vans. The five, all UK nationals, were first arrested on explosives charges and later on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism. Reuters They have since been released on police bail while inquiries continue, so they are free with conditions and can be recalled.
Examination of the vans and searches of linked London addresses found no evidence of a viable device, meaning no working bomb was recovered. The vans were marked with the logo of a legitimate fuel transit company that later denied ownership of the vehicles. Eighty-five households were evacuated in Whelford on Sunday while the bomb squad and counter-terror police responded.
Counter Terrorism Policing said its investigation into an incident reported close to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Sunday 27 September is continuing. It has published an official update page titled "Update on RAF Fairford investigation." Counter Terrorism Policing RAF Fairford is an air base that has been used by the United States. Reuters
Senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing Vicki Evans said investigators were looking at all possible angles including possible foreign state involvement. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in July that RAF Fairford was a legitimate target. Iran's embassy in London denied involvement in the events near RAF Fairford.
Taking stock of where the investigation stands, the case has widened rather than closed after the first detentions. Bail does not end the terrorism-preparation allegation for the original five. It keeps them under conditions while forensic work, checks on the vans' origins, and searches in London and Gloucestershire proceed. The Westminster arrest and the questioning of the second man add separate tracks to the same file, one custodial and one without arrest.
The broader context here is the legal and diplomatic complexity of a preparation case with a possible state link. Section 5 allows early intervention before capability is fully established. That fits the facts stated so far: a suspicious-vehicle report, an evacuation, no viable device recovered, and continued inquiry into intent, logistics and any direction. A foreign-state angle would bring different proof thresholds and inter-agency issues, from handling intelligence to decisions on attribution. A public denial by an embassy does not settle the question for investigators. A prior designation of the base as a legitimate target does not by itself link specific suspects to a state.
Looking at what this means for the next phase, the tests are concrete. Police will need to establish who procured and marked the vans, why they were brought to the perimeter at Whelford, what the occupants intended, and how the Westminster individuals connect to those events. For officials responsible for protective security around US-used facilities in Britain, the incident also tests response protocols seen on Sunday: rapid evacuation, explosive ordnance disposal deployment, and parallel criminal and counter-terrorism lines of inquiry. The outcome to watch is whether the Crown Prosecution Service, which decides on charges, receives a file for advice, whether bail conditions change, and whether police formally confirm or rule out state involvement.
