Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has indicated that UK security services were aware in advance of the group of men recently arrested in connection with a suspected bomb plot targeting RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The base, which hosts US Air Force missions including those against Iran, became the site of a major security operation after five men were arrested on terrorism charges. Armed officers discovered explosives inside three vans parked just minutes from the airbase.
The investigation was prompted after a local woman, who was driving near the base during the early hours of Sunday, observed the men acting unusually and reported the vehicles to police via a 999 call. In comments later shared by the BBC, the anonymous resident expressed frustration, stating that she felt the security services had "really dropped the ball on this." She noted that while the airbase had established a roadblock near the main entrance, other perimeter roads and the village of Whelford appeared to remain unmonitored.
Addressing these concerns on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Streeting thanked the woman for her vigilance but clarified that "she had a partial picture" of the events. He defended the actions of the police and intelligence services, pointing to statements made by US President Donald Trump, who claimed the suspects had been under surveillance for a significant period. Streeting noted that it was a "proud moment" to see the US president recognize the work of British police and intelligence, though he declined to comment on specific operational details or the identities of the suspects.
The Defence Secretary emphasized that a live police investigation is ongoing and that disclosing further information could compromise security. "There’s a live police investigation, and as a matter of course we don’t comment in detail on operational security matters, because often the more that we might say, the more insight we give to those who would wish us harm," Streeting stated. He further noted that the suspects "were looking to do big damage," according to the US president.
During the incident, residents of 85 households in the Cotswolds village of Whelford were rapidly evacuated to a Cirencester leisure centre, and a 400-metre cordon was established around the white vans. Army bomb squad robots were deployed to examine the vehicles, which were reported to be traveling toward the base when police intercepted them. Images from the scene showed shirtless men being handcuffed in a dark country lane.
