Five British men have been arrested in connection with an alleged bomb plot near RAF Fairford base. They were caught after a local woman saw them and tried to notify the authorities. When she called the Ministry of Defence, no one answered, but the emergency hotline call was successful. She was surprised that she thwarted a plot that should have been prevented by state institutions.
Several men were arrested on Sunday near RAF Fairford airbase, in southwest Britain, suspected of breaching explosives legislation. Police stated that it was a major incident, evacuated homes in the village of Whelford, and an army team checked multiple vehicles.
The Counter Terrorism Policing department of the British police announced in a statement that the suspects were detained on Sunday under suspicion of committing offenses under the Explosives Act and preparing a terrorist act.
The five detainees are a 24-year-old man from Camden (north London), three men aged 23, 24, and 25 from Westminster (central London), and a 24-year-old man from Willesden (northwest London), as reported by The Guardian.
Police stated on Monday that they are continuing efforts to establish the motive behind the incident, and the investigation benefits from "significant" resources. Military personnel are still deployed on-site, and the area remains isolated by a security cordon, a measure that will be reassessed on Monday.
A Farmer Raised the Alarm
Authorities intervened and apprehended the five suspects after a farmer alerted the police. She stated that she saw a "large group of men in hoods and masks" near RAF Fairford base.
The woman recounted on Monday morning, during the "Today" show on BBC Radio 4, that she returned home late from a party and found the road blocked by three white vans. She had noticed some activity by individuals in recent days but thought they were plainclothes police officers, so initially, she assumed it was the same thing.
"I had no choice but to turn my car around and head back the way I came. After I got a little distance from the vans, I saw a large group of men in hoods and masks. When they saw me, they ran in front of me – some into the field, others towards the neighboring village, Kempsford. That's when I realized something extremely unusual was happening. Knowing there was a security threat to the base, I immediately called the Ministry of Defence police, but the call went unanswered, and no one responded," she said.
The woman then dialed the emergency number (999) to report what she had seen. This time, successfully: "Within 10 minutes, the village was full of armed police," she said.
"Someone Really Dropped the Ball"
The woman expressed amazement that she achieved what the authorities failed to do.
"I think it was pure chance that I arrived in the village around the same time as those vans. I am absolutely amazed that it depended on me, a simple citizen, to see and report this. The base had set up a traffic checkpoint near the base entrance but not on the other roads. However, we assumed that someone was monitoring the roads around the base perimeter and conducting regular patrols through the village. It's clear that this wasn't happening, and I believe my call to 999 thwarted the plans of those individuals," she said.
"Even more surprising is the fact that, although the police knew about the presence of the three vans following my call at 01:36, the village was not evacuated until 06:00 (...) I want to emphasize that, apparently, someone really dropped the ball on this," added the farmer.
How the Defence Minister Responded
The Defence Minister, Wes Streeting, thanked the local woman who called the police on Monday morning but pointed out that she does not have all the details about this case.
"She did exactly what we would have wanted anyone in such an extraordinary situation to do. I am truly grateful to her – I believe she acted, as she herself admitted, swiftly and judiciously, and did what was necessary. However, with all due respect, she only holds a partial picture of the situation. And that's where I'll leave it this morning," the minister stated.
Streeting also suggested that British military bases are potential targets for "state-backed actors" seeking to cause "harm" to the country.
Criticism Also Aimed at Trump
The farmer from Whelford village responded to Streeting's comments. "I know that some high-ranking officials have said today that I did not have a complete overview, but what I saw was a group of unknown men lurking around and three extremely unusual vehicles parked in the middle of our village. So, that's my perspective; I don't know if it's the full picture or not," she told the press.
"I don't know how he knows what perspective I have; I've never met him. Essentially, no one in an official capacity reached out to me or anyone else in the village; there was no follow-up to the report, not even now, from the police, who had my phone number after I called the emergency service, so the situation is very strange," she continued.
She also "criticized" President Donald Trump, who suggested on Sunday that the authorities already had the suspects in sight. When asked about these statements, the farmer told reporters: "I think it's wonderful, but maybe they could have monitored them more closely."
In a statement to journalists yesterday, the US President praised the efforts of British law enforcement, calling the "arrest in the UK" "fantastic."
"We had them in sight. They intended to cause major damage to our base, and cooperation with the British side yielded excellent results," Trump stated.
The White House leader's comments suggest that the suspects had long been under close surveillance. However, his statements are contradicted by the fact that the men managed to get so close to RAF Fairford base, with the plot apparently being thwarted only thanks to the accidental intervention of a civilian, as noted by The Guardian.
Iranian Link Takes Priority, Tehran Denies Any Connection
RAF Fairford is a British base used by US air forces. The London government authorized the United States to use it for strikes against Iranian missile sites involved in attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The incident occurs as the conflict between the US and Iran continues, albeit at a reduced pace. In July, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused the US bombers of using RAF Fairford, warning the UK that "any base used for acts of aggression against Iranian territory is a legitimate target for our forces."
Tehran has rejected the hypothesis of any connection with the five arrests at Fairford airbase, according to a statement sent on Monday by the Iranian Embassy in London.
Counterterrorism police units and security services are trying to establish the motive for the incident. The circumstances of the arrests near the base and previous warnings from Iran make the hypothesis of an Iran-related motive a priority in the assessments of investigators and the government.
However, official sources warn that no hypothesis is excluded – including a jihadist or other nature motive – and the terrorist threat level in the UK remains "severe" (the second-highest), meaning an attack is highly likely.
The possible involvement of foreign actors is being analyzed in the investigation, considering that the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security has orchestrated attacks abroad in the past. Any proven link to Iran would represent a dramatic escalation of tensions between the UK and Tehran, as reported by the British newspaper.
T.D.