UK police say they are investigating whether individuals acting for another country were involved in an apparent plot to attack an air base used by the United States but say five suspects they had arrested will be released on bail.
The five men, all UK citizens from London in their early 20s, were detained early on Sunday after police were alerted by a local farmer about three white vans driving towards RAF Fairford, a base that houses US bombers that fly missions against Iran.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in July the base was a target.
Laurence Taylor, who heads the United Kingdom’s counter-terrorism police, said the men, who had been arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and planning a terrorist act, would be released under stringent bail conditions later on Monday.
The Press Association reported that the material found was not viable explosives.
“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over,” Taylor said in a statement outside London police headquarters.
“They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”
The five suspects are a 24-year-old from Camden, north London; three men aged 23, 24 and 25 from Westminster, central London, and one aged 24 from Willesden, northwest London.
A source familiar with the investigation had previously told Reuters that an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely, although a Russian sabotage operation or a jihadist plot were also being looked at as possibilities.
Iran’s embassy in London had earlier said in a statement it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” that it was involved, which it said would fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” in the UK.
Taylor, who did not specifically refer to Iran, said he knew there was interest in whether the current geopolitical context had a bearing on this incident.
“Be assured, we are considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxies or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state.”
Taylor said the three white vans had been subject to extensive examination, with the support of the military and forensic experts, and police still had “significant resources deployed at the scene”.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday the suspects had been looking to do “big damage” and had been under investigation by UK and US authorities.
However, doubts were voiced in UK media about the degree to which they had been under surveillance, given how close they had come to the base.
The source familiar with the investigation said the arrests were not “intelligence-led,” meaning that they did not know in advance that any plot was taking place.
A farmer who alerted the police told reporters she had seen a group of “hooded and masked men” running into fields.
The farmer, who has not been identified, said she believed it was her phone call to the 999 emergency hotline that foiled any plot and that she thought she had seen up to 10 people at the scene.
Defence minister Wes Streeting told the BBC the farmer had only a “partial picture” of the investigation, without providing further clarification.
“As and when we can, we will report back to the public about these individuals and about the nature of the threat, Streeting told Times Radio.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would chair a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee COBRA later on Monday.
After the Fairford arrests, the US embassy issued a security alert saying US citizens should “exercise caution” and be “mindful of personal security”.
The government had given authorisation to the US to use bombers based at Fairford to strike Iranian missile sites attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US air force said that its personnel based at RAF Fairford “remain vigilant” but “for operational security reasons we will not discuss specific force protection measures”.
In Fairford, police imposed a 400-metre cordon around the base and relocated residents from 85 homes in the nearby village of Whelford.
“Thanks to the excellent work of the army’s explosive ordnance disposal team, the scene is now safe, and the residents of Whelford will shortly be returning home,” UK interior minister Shabana Mahmood said.