Britain · updated 17m ago · 3 min read
British Police Release Five Men on Bail After No Explosives Found Near RAF Fairford Vans
Five men arrested near RAF Fairford on explosives and terrorism charges; released on bail. No explosives found in vehicles; petrol discovered; investigation continues.
How the evidence strength is conveyed.
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ABC News
“‘However, a quantity of petrol was recovered,’ Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the U.K., said in a statement.”Read the original ↗
BBC
“‘A farmer who called 999 to report the three white vans in the village of Whelford, which lies directly east of the base, told the BBC it was ‘pure luck’ that she spotted them.’”Read the original ↗
ABC News emphasises what police recovered, while the BBC foregrounds the farmer tip and luck, downplaying evidence strength.
Bail After No Explosives
British counter-terrorism police released five British men on bail after they arrested the suspects near RAF Fairford, a U.S.-operated air force base in England, and police said no explosives were found in three vans linked to the men.
Laurence Taylor, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said the suspects “absolutely remain under investigation” and insisted the bail decision was grounded in “experience and strategy.”
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday, “I wouldn’t have done that,” after he said he was surprised the five young British men arrested Sunday were freed a day later.
British police also said a quantity of petrol was recovered from the vans, while armed police and counterterrorism officers continued to examine the scene around the three vehicles.
The incident unfolded after a local farmer said she called police after seeing the vans blocking a road near the air base in the early hours of Sunday, and the case prompted questions about possible foreign links, including whether the suspects had a link to Iran.
Foreign Actor Dispute
Marco Rubio told Fox News the case “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” while the Iranian embassy in London said it “categorically rejects” any link to the suspected plot. Laurence Taylor said investigators were pursuing “multiple lines of inquiry,” including whether the suspected offences were committed by “proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.” The Guardian reported that one of the five men called police to report the incident, and the call was one reason armed police were scrambled to arrest the men with three vans close to RAF Fairford.
The Guardian also reported that Assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said: “A police response was activated in the early hours of Sunday morning due to a range of information received, including a call from a member of the public” about vehicles acting suspiciously close to RAF Fairford. Al Jazeera reported that Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged people “not to speculate,” even as Trump said the suspects had been under view for a “long time” and Rubio said the incident involved a foreign actor.
What Happens Next
British police said the five men remain under investigation after being released on bail, and Laurence Taylor stressed that the suspects face stringent conditions and “absolutely remain under investigation.”
The New Daily reported that police said investigative scenes around RAF Fairford were being scaled back and were expected to close completely by Wednesday, while a police cordon remained in place around three vans found close to the base on Tuesday.
The New Daily also reported that the air base houses the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and is a forward operating location for the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command.
ABC News reported that counterterror detectives said they were investigating whether the suspects had a link to Iran, and Iran has denied involvement.A
Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK “shouldn’t be cowed by saber rattling from Iran,” adding that “the Iranian regime is one that wishes harm to our country, our allies, and the freedom and democracy that we enjoy.”