Crime06 October, 20262 min read
British Counterterrorism Police Arrest Seventh Man Over Plot Against RAF Fairford
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A 22-year-old Briton arrested in London on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts near RAF Fairford Seven people detained over the suspected plot at RAF Fairford
7 outlets told this the same way.
Seventh detainee in London
British Counterterrorism Police arrested a 22-year-old British man in London on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism over the RAF Fairford incident, bringing the number of people detained in connection with the events near the base to seven. Vicki Evans, national coordinator of the Counterterrorism Police, said, "This remains an active investigation and our specialist teams continue to pursue multiple lines of inquiry" into what happened near RAF Fairford. The investigation began after police received information about three vehicles heading toward the base in Gloucestershire, and the first five suspects were detained in the early hours of September 27.
Investigators found containers with gasoline in the searches of the vehicles, and police said the searches did not find explosive devices. The sixth detainee, a 25-year-old man with dual British and Iranian nationality, was arrested on October 1 in Westminster on suspicion of planning terrorist acts and was later released on bail.
Bombers moved after threats
The United States pulled B-1 bombers it had deployed at RAF Fairford and returned them to bases on U.S. soil after the incident. Donald Trump told reporters, "There were some threats," and he said he preferred to move the aircraft rather than expose them to a possible attack. Le Monde reported that the United States confirmed Sunday, October 4, that it withdrew all B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford, and a Pentagon official said, "we can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States."
Le Monde also said investigators did not find any explosives in the vans, but instead "a quantity of petrol was recovered," according to counter-terrorism police. Andy Burnham said there were "strong indications that Iran played a part" in the incident, while Tehran rejected the charge.
What police are still proving
Counter Terrorism Policing said the investigation remains open and that police have not publicly detailed the role attributed to each detainee or established definitive criminal liabilities. Vicki Evans said detectives are "continuing to explore multiple lines of inquiry" and "remain committed to investigating all possibilities." The case has taken on strategic dimensions because Washington withdrew several B-1 Lancery bombers from Fairford and Trump publicly linked that move to a threat related to Iran.
“We can confirm that no improvised explosive devices were found.”
Le Monde said the scare forced evacuations at 85 homes near the airbase, and it said investigators recovered "a quantity of petrol" while not finding explosives. Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said police found "a large quantity of a fire accelerant, namely gasoline," and he said they had secured it as part of investigations.