Key facts
- UK security forces were aware of a bomb plot targeting RAF Fairford prior to the arrest of five suspects.
- Explosives were found in three vans parked near the Gloucestershire airbase, which hosts US military missions.
- The suspects were arrested on terrorism charges.
- A local resident's call to police led to the discovery of the suspicious vans and men.
- Defence Secretary Wes Streeting thanked the resident but stated she had a partial picture of the situation.
- Streeting praised the work of UK police and security services.
UK security services were aware of a suspected bomb plot targeting RAF Fairford, a base used by the US military for operations against Iran, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting indicated on Monday. Five men were arrested on terrorism charges after armed officers discovered explosives in three vans parked near the Gloucestershire airbase. The arrests followed a report by a local woman who observed suspicious activity involving the vans and men in the early hours of Sunday. She alerted police, stating she believed security services had "dropped the ball." Streeting, speaking to the BBC and BBC Radio 4, thanked the woman but suggested she had only a "partial picture." He praised the police and security services for their work, referencing comments by US President Donald Trump who claimed the suspects had been under surveillance for a long time. Streeting declined to provide specific details about the operational security matters due to the ongoing police investigation. Images showed shirtless men being handcuffed after police responded to reports of suspicious vans. Residents of 85 households in the nearby village of Whelford were evacuated, and a 400-meter cordon was established around the vans while bomb disposal robots examined them.