Britain08 October, 20263 min read
Two Latvian Men Arrested After Breach At RAF Molesworth In Cambridgeshire
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Two Latvian men arrested inside RAF Molesworth perimeter in Cambridgeshire, England. Arrests followed a fence breach and discovery of an abandoned vehicle.
Fence Breach at RAF Molesworth
Two Latvian men were arrested inside RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire after police found a small breach in the perimeter fence, following an abandoned vehicle spotted by a security patrol late on Wednesday. Counter-terrorism police said the men, aged 36 and 32, were arrested at the Royal Air Force (RAF) Molesworth base in Cambridgeshire and were held on suspicion of trespass and of entering a prohibited place “for a purpose prejudicial to the UK”. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the investigation was at an early stage and that officers were not currently linking the breach to the high-profile incident in Gloucestershire.
The BBC reported that the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) security patrol at RAF Molesworth identified an abandoned vehicle at about 22:00 BST on Wednesday, and police later searched the site before arresting the pair inside the perimeter. The arrests came after a major incident at RAF Fairford in western England on September 27 that led to the arrest of seven men, all in their 20s, who have since been released on bail.
Flanagan Denies a Link
Commander Helen Flanagan told reporters that police were “very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites,” but she said “at this stage there is nothing to suggest this incident is connected to the events at RAF Fairford last week.” The BBC said the two men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and criminal damage, and were later arrested on suspicion of an offence under Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023. Police said they were carrying out two searches at addresses in the Peterborough area in connection with the investigation, while the men were taken to a local station and then held in custody.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “We remain highly vigilant to potential threats against defence sites and work closely with the police and our allies to keep them secure.” The US European Command acknowledged the incident but declined to comment on specific force protection measures, while saying it was “inappropriate to discuss matters of intelligence”.
Security Focus and Next Steps
RAF Molesworth, formerly a World War II airbase, is now a non-flying facility managed by the United States Air Force, and it houses intelligence operations centres for Europe and Africa as well as a NATO intelligence hub. The BBC said the A1M was partially closed at about 13:00 BST earlier, along with several other roads in the Glatton area, because of the abandoned vehicle, and it said the roads were reopened shortly after as “nothing of concern was identified”. Police said they were examining the men’s motives and searching two properties in the Peterborough area in connection with the probe, while the investigation remained active.
The arrests at RAF Molesworth followed a separate counterterrorism investigation involving RAF Fairford, where British police arrested five men last month after reports of suspicious vehicles near the installation. The New York Times said counterterrorism police did not believe the arrests at RAF Molesworth were connected to the incident at Fairford, quoting Helen Flanagan that “A big part of this is looking at any potential motivation as to why the men were present at the site”.