Five men have been arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and explosive offences after three “suspicious vehicles” were reported travelling towards RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
A major incident was declared after the vehicles were reported at about 00:45 BST on Sunday, leading to the evacuation of dozens of homes near the RAF base.
The Army’s explosive ordnance disposal team was deployed to examine vehicles near the base, which is used by the United States Air Force (USAF), while Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) leads the investigation.
Residents evacuated from the nearby village of Whelford have been told they will not be allowed to return home overnight. Officials said they believed the incident was contained.
A 400m cordon has been placed around the area, with a bomb disposal team and hazardous area response team involved in the emergency response.
Aerial images showed what appeared to be a remote-controlled robot approaching stationary white vans in a wooded area, although police have not confirmed its use.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham was receiving updates on the incident, which he described as “deeply concerning for local residents”. In a statement, he urged members of the public not to speculate while the investigation continued.
CTP and Gloucestershire Police said the investigation remained in its early stages, with the five men still in custody on Sunday evening.
The men were initially arrested by Gloucestershire Police on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act before being further arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.
Gloucestershire Police’s temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said the force would continue to support CTP but would leave any declaration of a “terrorist incident” to the counter-terrorism authorities.
Asked whether police were looking for other people in connection with the incident, Ms Blyth told a news conference late on Sunday that she believed the matter was “contained”.
The RAF base has a long history of working with the American military and has recently been used by US warplanes as a staging post for defensive strikes on Iran.
US President Donald Trump said those arrested had been “looking to do big damage”, adding: “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said he had been in contact with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth.
A USAF spokesperson said its personnel remained vigilant but declined to discuss specific force protection measures.
The US Department of Defense later raised the threat level at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, which hosts the USAF’s 48th Fighter Wing, to its second-highest category.
An image purporting to show the moment the five men were arrested was sent to the BBC.
The image showed detained men in Whelford, about 350m (1,148ft) from runway access at Crash Gate 6A at RAF Fairford.
The BBC was unable to verify the original source of the image, but BBC Verify geolocated it and confirmed it appeared to be authentic.
Several residents told the BBC they were taken from their homes in the early hours of Sunday and evacuated to a leisure centre.
Julian Tudsbury said he was woken at 07:00 by police banging on his door in Whelford, where 85 households had been advised to evacuate.
“There were several police, three police cars in the drive, and they said you need to evacuate, there’s been a major incident, said he couldn’t elaborate,” he said.
He said another local resident had seen three vehicles travelling towards the base and called police “straight away”.
Another resident, who gave his name only as Jeff, said he heard shouting outside at about 02:00.
“[I] looked out the window and saw men were being held by police outside the house. They were armed, it was surreal.”
Gloucestershire Police said displaced residents had been told they would not be able to return to their homes on Sunday night.
Overnight accommodation was to be provided by Cotswold District Council for those affected who could not stay with family or friends, according to deputy chief executive David Stanley.
A USAF spokesperson said its personnel remained vigilant but did not discuss specific force protection methods.
The US Department of Defense later raised the threat level at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, which hosts the US Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing, to its second-highest category.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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