RAF Fairford suspected bomb plot: five men arrested are all UK nationals – The Latest
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is the Guardian.
That is the top priority of investigators to work out if there is a state link to this, in particular if it's Iran.
The arrest in the UK was fantastic. Working with Britain it was an amazing job. We had him under investigation.
British authorities, investigators have been saying it wasn't an intelligence led operation. In other words, it was a tip off from a vigilant member of the public. The impression given is investigation that's growing in size and complexity, not one that's reducing.
What happened near RAF Fairford when five men were arrested?
From the Guardians today in focus, this is the latest with me, Lucy Half. It's been a very dramatic and fast moving twenty-four hours since the early hours of Sunday morning when three vans were found near an RAF base in Gloucestershire. Five men we now know are British nationals were arrested under the Explosives Act. They've now been released on bail. Dan Sabah, you're our defence and security editor. Let's go back to where this started and how things unfolded.
Why is RAF Fairford a sensitive military site?
Well it's an extraordinary incident and uh uh there are slightly different accounts of what happened, but the essence of it is is that a group of what it looks like five men in three white vans sort of turned up in this uh Gloucestershire village just by uh RAF Fairford, really sensitive military site. Um uh it's a US airbase. It'd been used for uh US bomber command for a long time. Uh and most recently in the war, in the bombing campaign against Iran, with the permission of uh the former Prime Minister Keir Starmer. So it's a it's an obviously sensitive military site. Um there has been some noise. Iran has talked about sort of say saying that such sites were legitimate military targets in the last few weeks.
So, you know, three vans, five guys suddenly being found Uh according to one version of events, just by a local farmer at about sort of one thirty five AM, but certainly by people ringing in, the police have a slightly different timeline. They say they had a call at twelve forty five AM. But in any event, uh some unusual activity in an otherwise sleepy village right next to a strategically significant airbase.
Yeah, this this local woman was a a farmer that was driving uh around that time, one thirty in the morning, who saw this suspicious activity. Um and she's been uh on the sort of media round talking about, you know, she said it was pure luck that she encountered this group of three vans, but obviously there might be some differing versions of accounts as you say, which we'll come to 'cause counterterror police have released a statement saying
What could the suspects’ British nationality mean for an Iran link?
that these are British nationals. They haven't said too much given that this is an active investigation, but what have they said and what do we know about the the various lines of inquiry?
But you've touched on the most significant thing right there. Uh uh British nationals from from London, yeah, it seems. Now again uh the wh why is this important? 'Cause you know, the scenario that everyone's looking at, well the question is everyone is asking is and and this is what investigators will be asking, you know, is this a state sponsored attack in particular, is it sponsored by Iran, which would have a obvious interest and you know, might even claim it's a legitimate you know, legitimate military target. Uh uh and uh the fact that these are British nationals, well, I mean it takes Takes away one possibility because obviously you know we were thinking perhaps or or it w it was being thought that these could be Iranian nationals or people with a very obvious and direct connection with Iran.
Yeah. Now that may emerge, we don't know what's going to happen. There's an awful lot that we don't know. But we have seen examples of Iranian nationals being tasked by the Iranian state to engage in hostile reconnaissance of Jewish sites in the UK, there are two men facing trial uh regarding that, for example. Yeah. And we have also seen another individual, not an Iranian, being arrested in Cyprus, engaging uh in hostile reconnaissance, allegedly on the RAF Accretary base.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:38
2
What happened near RAF Fairford when five men were arrested?
0:38–1:09
3
Why is RAF Fairford a sensitive military site?
1:09–2:39
4
What could the suspects’ British nationality mean for an Iran link?
2:39–4:09
5
How did a local tip-off lead to the arrests, and what did officials know?
4:09–5:11
6
Why do US and UK accounts differ on the suspected Fairford plot?
5:11–5:37
7
How could allowing US aircraft to use RAF Fairford increase UK security risks?
5:37–6:52
8
Are investigators examining Iranian or other state links to the suspected plot?
6:52–8:59
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Today in Focus
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