Five arrested near RAF Fairford on terror and explosives charges released on bail
Five men arrested near RAF Fairford on terror and explosives charges have been released on bail.
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Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, announced the development this afternoon.
Counter Terrorism Policing said earlier today that the five men arrested over the suspected bomb plot are all British nationals from London and aged in their 20s.
The men, aged between 23 and 25, were detained outside the Gloucestershire airbase in the early hours of Sunday morning.
SAS troops were deployed to the site and Andy Burnham told LBC that he would be chairing a meeting of the Government's COBRA emergency committee later today.
The men are no longer in custody but are still under investigation.
Iran meanwhile said it "categorically rejects" being involved.
In a statement, its London embassy dismissed reports linking Tehran to the arrests as 'unfounded and malicious speculations'.
The embassy said: "The circulation of such fabricated speculations, particularly in the aftermath of the criminal acts of aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian people, will serve no purpose other than to fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to take appropriate legal measures, as necessary, to safeguard the rights and interests of the country and its people in response to misleading and damaging media narratives."
Anyone arrested can be held up to 24 hours before police have to charge them with a crime. For murder and other serious crime it can be increased up to 96 hours. If they are not charged, they must be released.
Anyone held under the Terrorism Act or National Security Act can be held without charge for up to 14 days.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor told reporters outside New Scotland Yard: “I can confirm that following extensive interviews and inquiries the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon.
“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over.
“They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.
“They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”
Mr Taylor said he knows there is “significant interest in whether the current geopolitical context has a bearing on this incident”.
Mr Taylor continued: “At counter-terrorism policing, we are working within this context every single day, and at this stage, we are keeping an open mind in this investigation.
“We have, as you would expect, ensured that our protective security advice and posture remain commensurate to the threat.
“But be assured, we are considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.
“To respond to incidents such as these, rapid mobilisation is necessary, as we cannot take the risk whilst assessing that threat.
“However, once we understand the threat more clearly, we seek to return affected communities to normality as quickly as possible.”
The men arrested were described as a 24-year-old from Camden, north London; three men aged 23, 24 and 25 from Westminster, central London, and one aged 24 from Willesden, north-west London.
A police cordon remains in place in Whelford and will be reviewed later today, CTP said.
Gloucestershire Constabulary were initially alerted to three suspicious vans travelling towards RAF Fairford at 12.45am on Sunday, and it is unclear what action was taken in the hour that followed.
The local farmer who spotted the vans and a group of masked men initially called the Ministry of Defence police but there was no answer, so called 999 at 1.36am, and armed police arrived around 10 minutes later.
She said the police had “dropped the ball”, telling journalists: “Who knew that a farmer would have to roll their sleeves up and report the activity?”
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told reporters the suspects were looking to “do big damage”, while on Monday, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK must not be “cowed by sabre-rattling from Iran” or allow the country to “dictate our foreign policy” while stressing it was “too early to attribute background aims”.
The police operation was not intelligence-led, meaning investigators had not known about any potential plot in advance.
Aerial footage showed a bomb disposal robot spending hours inspecting three white vans, two of which had open rear doors. Large black barrels appeared to be scattered around.
Investigators will now be working to analyse any devices seized from those arrested to establish details of any plot and any potential motivation.
The arrests come amid heightened concerns around the threat from hostile states to the UK, with Russia and Iran among those that have used proxies to commit crimes on their behalf.
In March, officials said the number of national security cases involving activity by hostile states including Iran had increased 50% in the six months to December 2025.
That same month, after then-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer granted permission for “defensive” US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases, four American bombers landed at RAF Fairford and the US started using British bases for “specific defensive operations”.
Separately, a spate of antisemitic attacks on Jewish sites in London this year were claimed by a group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right (Hayi), which is thought to be backed by Iran.
Support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hayi was banned in July by Sir Keir.
Under the state threat powers, anyone supporting or assisting the groups will face a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison, but ministers will need parliamentary approval first.