A suspected terror attack on an RAF base was narrowly prevented after a vigilant farmer raised the alarm.
Five men travelling in three vans containing suspected explosives were stopped early yesterday just 350 yards from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The base has been used by American forces to launch air strikes against Iran’s regime.
Counter-terrorism officers moved in after the farmer’s 999 call and arrested the group. US President Donald Trump later said: ‘They were looking to do big damage to our fort.’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned in July that any base involved in air strikes could be considered a legitimate target. Iranian ambassador Seyed Ali Mousavi also said the decision to let American bombers operate from Fairford had become an ‘important matter for our self-defence’.
Police evacuated 85 households near the base, the US Air Force’s European command outpost, amid fears that barrels of suspicious material inside the three vehicles could detonate.
The Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team spent hours examining the vans yesterday as the investigation continued.
Mr Trump praised the police operation, telling reporters in the US: ‘It was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great.’
‘It may have been Scotland Yard, I don’t know. We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.’
Five men were pictured shirtless near RAF Fairford after being arrested under the Explosives Act on Sunday morning
The suspects were handcuffed and seated on the road while Army bomb disposal experts and the SAS were sent in to deal with the threat
A wheeled robot from the bomb squad examined three white vans after five men were arrested in connection with the suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford
However, claims that British authorities had prior warning of the alleged plot were rejected last night, with Whitehall sources confirming that the arrests had not been pre-planned.
The police response began by chance when a farmer from the nearby village of Whelford spotted three vans blocking a quiet country lane around the base while driving home from a party in the early hours.
Puzzled by the scene, she turned her car around and saw men she described as ‘Middle Eastern-looking’, wearing balaclavas and hooded tops, flee into the trees and across fields in the direction of the base.
The farmer quickly drove away and called 999 at 12.45am. She then sent a message to her local WhatsApp group, warning residents to lock their doors.
Officers arrived within 15 minutes and arrested the five men shortly afterwards.
The farmer believes her unexpected appearance may have startled the group and disrupted their plans.
‘They would have seen the bright headlights,’ she said. ‘They probably thought we were the police (and) panicked.’
She added: ‘It would appear that by doing so I just derailed whatever they were planning.’
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She said the vans appeared suspicious because the telephone number and lettering displayed on them seemed fake. Fuel2U, a fuel delivery company based in Beaconsfield, said the vehicles were not connected to its business.
In chilling footage captured by locals, the suspects were held at gunpoint by armed officers. Sitting in the middle of the road with their hands secured behind their back, the men were bare–chested after officers stripped their upper clothing fearing they may be wearing suicide vests.
The suspects were initially held on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act, before being arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act.
Armed officers evacuated residents to a leisure centre, hurrying children and the elderly in their pyjamas to safety in case the bombs went off. Late last night, the residents had not been allowed to return home.
Gloucestershire police shut down key roads into Whelford and the RAF base. Locals said yesterday that security around the air base had been ramped up in the past week.
Tristan Wilkinson, the Cotswold district councillor for Lechlade, Kempsford and Fairford South, said: ‘I think the one thing we can say is that if you look around the base, they’ve put heavy machinery in place.
‘That’s unusual. That tells me that the base was on a heightened level of security.’
The investigation was last night described as being in the early stages, with police understood to be keeping an open mind.
Armed police around the village of Whelford, near RAF Fairford on Sunday morning
The robot was captured travelling down a deserted road before it probed three white vans
A B-1B Lancer bomber pictured at the air base, which has been used to mount US strikes against Iran since the US-led war began
They are exploring the possible involvement of other hostile states such as Russia or Islamist terrorism. Groups such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State have inspired British terrorists to plot attacks on UK military bases.
But the link with Iran last night prompted criticism of Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who was pictured last week shaking hands with the regime’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in New York.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat said: ‘The Iranian regime has done nothing to justify any senior British minister meeting their envoys.
‘They are murdering protesters, threatening our allies and arming terror groups, including the Houthis, as well as threatening communities in the UK. Shaking hands gives them a credibility they have failed to achieve through violence.’
Vicki Evans, senior national co–ordinator at Counter Terrorism Policing, said: ‘We are in the early stages of an investigation, and five men remain in custody. As you would expect, we are working closely with our partners to understand the circumstances of the incident.’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: ‘I would like to thank the emergency services for their swift response to the major incident in Gloucestershire this morning and their reassurance that they believe the incident is contained.’
Prime Minister Andy Burnham added: ‘The safety and security of the public is our first priority, and I want people to know that we will always take every step necessary to protect our communities and keep our country safe.’
