During a patrol of the base, Ministry of Defence police
found an abandoned vehicle and discovered damage to the security fence
surrounding the site.
Officers detained two men, ages 36 and 32, at about 2 a.m. on
Oct. 8. Both are Latvian citizens who live in Britain.
They were initially detained on suspicion of trespassing on
a restricted site and criminal damage. They were later rearrested on suspicion
of an offense under Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023: entering a
prohibited place for a purpose that could be harmful to the UK.
Both men remain in custody. The investigation is being
handled by London’s Counter Terrorism Policing unit.
Helen Flanagan, the unit’s chief, said there was currently
no reason to believe the incident was connected to events at RAF Fairford the
previous week.
On Sept. 27, UK police detained five British citizens
ages 23 to 25. Several homes in the nearby village of Welford were temporarily
evacuated, and an emergency was declared.
No explosives were found during a search of three vans
linked to the detainees, although officers found gasoline. The investigation
initially focused on suspected explosives offenses but was later transferred to
Britain’s counterterrorism police because of suspicions that the group was
preparing a terrorist attack.
All five detainees were released on bail Sept. 29, with
restrictions on their movements and contacts. On Oct. 1, police detained
a sixth suspect, a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian citizen, in Westminster,
London. He was later released on bail.
The United States later announced that it had withdrawn all
12 of its B-1 strategic bombers from the British air base.