US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the weekend incident at RAF Fairford “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor”
Speaking to US media, he doesn’t give further details but thanks UK authorities for being “cooperative” and “helpful”
Five men arrested on suspicion of terror offences near the base, which is used by the US military, were released on bail on Monday.
The men – all UK nationals in their 20s who live in London – had been arrested under the Explosives Act and on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act
AC Laurence Taylor, the head of UK counter terrorism policing, has said officers are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry, including if proxies working on behalf of a foreign state could’ve been involved – the Iranian embassy in the UK denies involvement
A large cordon remains in place near the base while 85 households, evacuated on Sunday, have been told they can return home
One local tells the BBC those who’ve gone home are being told to stay inside and not to take photos. “I want to wait until I know more… it feels super dodge to me,” she says
In his speech at the Labour Party conference on Monday, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said he couldn’t provide much further detail about the terror probe at RAF Fairford beyond what has already been reported.
Instead, he praised the strength of the UK-US alliance.
“Our friendship with America is the closest alliance of any two nations on Earth, and we will always stand together against those who hate our freedom and those who wish us harm,” he said.
“What we saw yesterday from our security services, our armed forces and our police was just a small glimpse of the extraordinary work they do every day.”
Fairford is not the only UK air base used by the United States Air Force.
Over in Suffolk in the East of England are Mildenhall and Lakenheath, where the state of alert has been increased by the US to “Charlie” – the second-highest alert level.
Charlie alert is usually an indication an incident has happened, or intelligence suggests there could be a potential attack.
Lakenheath is home to fighter jets, while Mildenhall is mainly used as a base for refuelling tankers.
