Two men re-arrested in RAF Fairford inquiry into suspected foreign intelligence activity

British counter-terrorism police re-arrested two men on Tuesday in their investigation into suspicious activity near RAF Fairford, a Gloucestershire airbase used by US forces. The men, aged 24 and 25, are being held on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. Police say the investigation relates to Iran. [2]

The 24-year-old British man was first arrested near the base on 27 September. The 25-year-old, who has British and Iranian nationality, was first arrested in Westminster on 1 October on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. Both were subsequently released on bail. Five other men arrested in the investigation remain on police bail; none of the seven has been charged, according to the Associated Press. [2] [6]

The inquiry began after police received a report of three suspicious vehicles travelling towards the base in the early hours of 27 September. Five men were arrested nearby. Police later said they had recovered petrol from the vehicles but found no improvised explosive devices. They did not say what the petrol was intended for. [1]

Laurence Taylor, the head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, said on Tuesday that officers considered Iranian state involvement “highly likely”, while they continued to examine its possible extent and the purpose of the activity. [2] Prime Minister Andy Burnham had told Parliament on 12 October that the government assessed the activity as highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood declined to discuss intelligence briefings while the investigation continued. Iran’s ambassador to Britain denied Iranian involvement in response to the earlier allegation. [3] [4] [5]

The re-arrests bring two of the seven men back into custody. What investigators believe each man did, and what was intended near the base, remain unresolved publicly.