A major incident has been declared near RAF Fairford after five men were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, with around 85 households evacuated while Army bomb disposal specialists examine three suspicious vehicles.
Gloucestershire Constabulary said officers were called at around 12.45am on Sunday 27 September following a report of three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RAF Fairford. Armed officers responded and subsequently arrested five men in the Whelford area, all of whom remain in police custody.
In an update issued at around 1.55pm, police said: “At around 12.45am today, Sunday the 27th of September, police received a call relating to three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RAF Fairford. Armed officers responded, and subsequently arrested five men in the Whelford area on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act. The men were taken into custody, where they remain.”
A 400-metre cordon has been established around the vehicles while an Army explosive ordnance disposal team examines them. Around 85 households have been advised to leave their homes as a precaution, with a nearby leisure centre opened for residents unable to stay with family or friends.
Police said: “A 400 metre cordon has been put in place around the vehicles while the Army’s explosive ordnance disposal unit examine them. As a precaution, around 85 households have been advised to evacuate while these examinations take place. A nearby leisure centre has been opened for those who are unable to stay with family or friends.”
The force said work was continuing to establish the full nature of the incident and confirmed that officers were in contact with partner organisations at both local and national level, including counter-terrorism policing.
The update continued: “The emergency services have well-rehearsed plans for dealing with major incidents such as this. Work to establish the full nature of this incident is ongoing, and we are in constant communication with our partners, both locally and nationally. In particular, we are working closely with our partners in counter-terrorism policing.”
Gloucestershire Constabulary said its immediate focus remained on the local community and thanked those who had been required to leave their homes.
Police said: “Gloucestershire Police’s focus at this time is on the local community, and I’d like to thank the residents who have left their homes this morning for their understanding and support. We appreciate the disruption that this will have caused to both them and other local residents in the area, and we’d like to reassure them that we are working as quickly as we can to get them back into their properties.”
The force also urged people not to speculate about the circumstances surrounding the incident while enquiries continue, saying: “We would also please ask the public not to speculate, but to follow official channels for all updates.”
An earlier police statement said a number of properties in the Whelford area were being evacuated following the declaration of the major incident.
The force said: “A number of properties are currently being evacuated in the Whelford area following the declaration of a major incident.
“It follows the arrest of several men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.
“The Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team are currently examining a number of vehicles.
“The local residents are being evacuated to a nearby leisure centre.
“A cordon is currently in place but we’d like to reassure people that we believe this incident is contained.
“We are working closely with our partners and are enacting the well-rehearsed plans we have in place.”
RAF Fairford is a US Air Force-operated base in Gloucestershire used by the 501st Combat Support Wing and frequently supports deployments of American military aircraft to the UK. Police have not said that the five men, the vehicles or the alleged explosives offences are connected to activity at the airbase beyond stating that the vehicles were reported travelling towards RAF Fairford.
Separate social media reports published before the police announcement claimed force protection measures at Fairford had been increased, including claims that the base had moved to Force Protection Condition Delta.
A US Air Force spokesperson, responding to reporting about security at Fairford, said: “We are aware of the current reporting. For operational security reasons we will not discuss specific force protection measures.”
Force Protection Conditions are used by the US military to set security measures according to the assessed threat. Delta is the highest level and is normally associated with a terrorist attack having occurred or intelligence indicating an imminent threat at a specific location, but the US Air Force has not confirmed that Fairford is operating at that level.
Good stuff… looks like they may have stopped an attack….
Well done to the police and the security Services.
Seconded. I was about to comment that such a “report of suspicious vehicles” might be the official public face of the skill and capability of the CTC, the Security Service, and our homeland surveillance capabilities tracking these people after weeks of work.
If so, brilliant. Even then, some will find an agenda to moan about them.
BBC has footage of EOD Robots looking closely at the van door handles, by the looks of it, before opening.
Yesit looks intelligence led…
Looks like T failing to give credit where credit is due. Might end up claiming credit himself if true to form.
Yes “we got them and worked with the Brits.”
In our country, sunshine,
No doubt the US was involved, who knows? Maybe they were the source of the intelligence through 5 Eyes, so much is shared. But it’s our agencies who will have actioned it, wouldn’t surprise me if the info came from our own sources we’re not short of them in the Middle East.
Backgrounds of the 5 men arrested will be interesting and how they were recruited.
Photo on Spec Ops Magazine on SM of the 5, bound, stripped topless, and being searched and guarded closely by what look like CTPSFOs.
All look like Doctors, teachers, and innocent old lady types from Tunbridge Wells, NOT.
3 look of middle Eastern appearance, one African or Caribbean, by the photo? I wonder if someone let them in or they’re more of the “enemy within” that the left love to deny exist that are home grown Brits, but not loyal to Britain, in our ever splintering society tolerated and actively encouraged by HMG.
Will be interesting to see.
Comments on that site from types infinitely more knowledgable than me mention seeing ammonium nitrate in the vans as well.
Mix the nitrate with diesel and it does make a big bang! Common in NI for the IRA!
So easy for a technically backward but dedicated cell to source and make. I remember when you could buy the anarchists cookbook through mail order from Military History Society in the 80s.
Whatever, that photo isn’t confirned yet but I’d not be surprised if it’s legit.
You can still get the anarchists cook book, it’s not actually illegal, but you better be ready to defence why you have it and be able to evidence your not a terrorist.. not worth the risk…
Except all fertiliser sold in the UK now has an inhibitor in it preventing the reaction propagating.
Live and learn👍
Don’t start looking it up GCHQ are good at there jobs god love them 👍
The inhibitors reduce the risk of accidental explosions, but that doesn’t mean ANFO mixes can’t be used as main charges. Does at least make it a bit trickier to pull off though.
I think we might be getting into a little bit too much detail here…..
I don’t generally use the enemy within term as it adds to a dialogue we don’t want and our enemies do want to encourage. If they have come to this country to do harm they are external enemies no matter the route, purpose or sponsor.
They are only an enemy within if they are citizens and anyone that actively works against the UK who is a Uk citizen, be they white, brown, Christian, Muslim right or left, to my mind they are all traitors, I don’t tend to see it politically or racially, I see it in a purely National sense… so for me the enemy within are British citizens who are against the Britain state and those who would do it harm.. essentially radicals of any kind, extreme groups, supporters of Russia and Iran.
Now I don’t have issues with the right, you can support closing the boarders and reducing benefits, I don’t have a problem with the left, you can support more open boarders and higher taxes to pay for benefits I don’t have an issue with either..and I don’t have an issue with faith. I only have an issue with those who I see as a threat to the nation.
But we need to remember our enemies want us to have issues with each other. So the only people I really have issue are
1) terrorists
2) those who organise violent or highly intimidating protests
3)those who call people who just disagree with them traitors. UNLESS what they are saying is clearly an attack on the UK ( supporting terror, violence or nations that are clearly our enemy over our own or calling that nation to attack our government is clearly being a traitor)
Basically our enemies are watching and weakening with grey warfare from many angles.. it’s the nation state enemies we really need to focus on..
What about those who call on the Military to mount a coup if the people vote for someone they do not like? We have a few on this site although whether they are really British is in doubt.
Anyone who essentially advocates against HMG, and I use HMG not in a party politics way but in the structures of our government and state
.. I don’t like reform, but if they get voted in so be it.. i will peacefully protest anything they do I disagree with, but if they are the government so be it, the same with any government.
I would only ever consider my own government the enemy of the people if they actively dismantled all the pillars of the British state ( monarchy, parliament, judiciary) without a supermajority vote.
Essentially what the Nazis did to the German state, that’s my sort of test really.
Saying the enemy within is actively encouraged by HMG is exactly the kind of narrative our enemies want us to share and believe.
Well, Russia isn’t responsible for us importing people with no loyalty or love for this country.
We are. No one else.
Salman Albedi. We took him in, he blew people to bits. Who takes the blame? Who signed off on him remaining?
Ahmed Hassan, Parsons Green bomber. We let him in, nothing to do with Russia.
Our own weakness.
That Russia no doubt encourage it doesn’t mean HMG had no issue with allowing it.
Reform have been warning for months that Iranians might be crossing the channel, undocumented.
And off they go
For every death they inflict, the minister responsible for allowing them to stay should be held to account.
There is a fifth column in this country that has been ALLOWED to grow and fester here by our own policies.
I apologise to no one for that belief. No one.
That Russia take full advantage, who can blame them, you play to your enemies weaknesses like I’d hope we play to theirs.
Diversity is our strength… How’s that John Lennon Imagine fantasy world/mass migration working out for you, Boomers?
One of most dishonest narratives of recent times since it presented as an absolute. Diversity can mean strength as long as it not leads to significantly different objectives, if that occurs instead can lead to civil war.
It also my opinion that Democracy is at significant risk with widely differing opinions/cultures.
I agree. The “all cultures are the same” brainwashing I and everyone else went through growing up has led to disaster. Some cultures are simply not compatible with ours. Like mixing oil and water. The damage this “experiment” has caused are incalculable (not just terrorism but the rape gangs, fraud, debt etc). I remember european countries and cities feeling so safe, like a paradise almost, 30 years ago and it was all thrown away. Totally different world. And it was done for absolutely no reason other than a few people wanted to feel good about themselves.
It truly is heartbreaking. And our governments just refuse to admit they made a mistake so its not being fixed.
People wonder how the americans decided to elect trump. It was desperation. He was the only one calling out the absolutely insane policies of government and the only one they felt would actually close the border. So they overlooked all his flaws and terrible personality and elected him. Many americans say they’re embarrassed by him, but they were desperate and are happy with his immigration policies (despite what the news says).
Other countries need to get over ourselves, swallow our pride and do the same before its too late (if it isn’t already). If you think things are bad now they will get a LOT worse as these immigrants keep coming and keep outbreeding us and gaining more power. Its civilizational suicide to let it continue, trump is 100% right about that, and that hurts a lot of europeans’ pride.
Personally I’m a firm believer in integration. You can have massively multi ethnic societies but you need to have binding integration.. the US is the very best example of this.
Interesting just seen an alleged picture of the five arrested guys.. it could be any group of UK young men.co.uk.
The picture makes me more on the paid by state actor side or perhaps home grown nutters of some description..
Just another interesting thought on what this could be..
There is a predilection for more politically active youths of this country to spray paint military aircraft if they get all agitated..
So this may be some idiots risking death for a bit of political spay painting..
Quite simply rubbish.
Umm it’s a thought, it cannot be rubbish.
Iran is a much more immediate threat to the UK than Russia, and it’s time we started acting like it. “Little Satan” is their nickname for us.
They are of course allies too, supplying each other with weaponry for their respective conflicts, working against western security and economic interests.
The current Iranian regime should never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, and we along with the rest of Europe should be working towards reopening the strait of Hormuz.
They killed more of their own civilians in a few months than the total deaths (combatants plus civilians) in 3 years of the Gaza war. Yet no weekly marches in our cities for them.
I can’t quite countenance how gullible to leftist ideologies western populations have become. I keep thinking the next big thing will surely be the wake up call, but it never seems to be. They are capable of such mind bending mental gymnastics to justify their politics, less their egos be bruised by admitting they are wrong. Social media has a lot to answer for, as it makes it harder for people to forego their previous beliefs in light of new information, because people don’t want to be seen to be as inconsistent, leading to entrenched and polarised politics.
An activation of NATO Article 5 is the biggest threat to peace in Western Europe.
‘In recent weeks, several European intelligence chiefs have warned that Russia may be preparing more assertive actions to test Nato countries’ commitment to supporting Ukraine, though officials differ over how imminent such a move may be.
Russia is expected to intensify its hybrid attacks against European countries with “greater consequences” for those targeted in the coming months, the Danes warned, including “destructive cyber-attacks that cripple societal functions as well as sabotage attacks that carry a high risk of casualties”.
A source familiar with Moscow’s thinking agreed that Russia was likely to step up its hybrid attacks.’
Thurs 24 Sept 2026
And we have no credible conventional deterrent.
Well here we go, this could be a bit of a cluster fuck amateur job involving right wing Putin paid clowns, or possibly the usual crowd (but thinking they are a bit more special) of pro Palestinian supporters of Hamas scum and shit lizards, or the Iranian backed lefty retards following the usual lefty agenda! Or, most likely it is the Iranian backed operatives, be it dingy dwellers or orchestrated sleeper cells, doing what they’re told to do! Any way you look at it, successive Governments have let this country and it’s people down, with their continued perceived weakness and its pandering to minorities!
Anything that happens subsequently can be tied down to HMGs door, they will and are responsible for anything that happens and do not deserve to be in power and have control of such a decent, fair and tolerant people as the Brits! I despair I really do, never have I seen such an out if touch shower of shit bunch of MPs as of today! Most never having a PAYE job, never having real hardship, or a real wage which needs to be prioritised etc! And next year they want the reservists they have spent the last 2 years screwing over and truth to out j jail to respond to a recall exercise! lol ha ha ha no fucking chance, I and many others will surprise these clowns in a way that will shock then in the near future!
Nothing more needs saying after that, you’ve covered the lot.
I do not think it is Putin. He should recognise Trump as his best asset at the moment. An attack on a US airbase just before the mid terms that could be tied in to Russia is a disaster for him.
Iran possibly, home grown Islamists or pro ‘Palestinian’ activists is most likely I feel.
I agree.
Radio 4 this morning: a farmer reported to police, suspicious vans blocking the road after midnight and that there were more than 5 persons.
A major concern here is that a call in the early hours to the Fairford base duty security staff appears to have been unanswered.
The threat to Fairford has been in the public domain for some time.
It seems fortunate that the vehicles weren’t packed with drones and able to release them. Agree with others here that this is most likely a locally organised plot as fortunately those involved don’t appear to be particularly competent or well resourced. The police appear to have arrived on site very quickly and in large numbers adding credence to Trump’s version of events? Hopefully he hasn’t blown a larger operation… Now alerted any associates could have been given valuable time to go to ground, destroy or erase electronic devices, remove evidence etc.