A seventh man has been arrested over the activity near RAF Fairford at the end of last month, and detectives have said they are still working to establish a motive, Counter Terrorism Policing has said.
The 22-year-old British national was detained in the borough of Westminster in London on Tuesday on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, and a property in the same area has been searched.
Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “This remains a live investigation and our specialist teams continue to pursue multiple lines of enquiry into the circumstances surrounding events near RAF Fairford.
“Once again, I’d like to thank the public for their continued support and patience whilst we work through this highly complex investigation.
“We’re acutely aware of the public interest in this investigation, and we are working around the clock, and at pace, to identify the motivation behind events in Gloucestershire. We remain committed to investigating all possible angles.”
More than a week after the first arrests, the motivation behind the activity in Gloucestershire has still not been established. Ms Evans said last week that officers were looking at all possible angles including possible foreign state involvement, and Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said earlier that they were considering whether the activity might have been committed by proxies or by individuals knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state.
Six men in their twenties remain on police bail, five of them arrested in the early hours of Sunday 27 September and the sixth, a dual British and Iranian national aged 25, detained on Thursday 1 October and bailed at the weekend. Nobody has been charged.
The original arrests followed a report of suspicious vehicles near the airfield, which brought officers out initially on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and subsequently of preparation of a terrorist act. A major incident was declared and homes were evacuated in the village of Whelford beside the base. Three vehicles were examined and no improvised explosive devices were found in them, although a quantity of petrol was recovered.
Fairford is a United States Air Force forward operating location rather than a flying station of the Royal Air Force, and its long runway has made it the standing European base for American strategic bombers. B-1B Lancers have been operating from the airfield, and the base moved to its highest force protection condition before the first arrests were made.
Counter Terrorism Policing has asked anyone with information that might assist to report it through gov.uk/ACT or by calling the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.
