WorldPosted at: Oct 5 2026 7:56PM


Downing Street insists RAF Fairford base safe after US withdraws bombers after terror threat

London, Oct 5 (UNI) Downing Street has insisted that RAF Fairford is safe after the US withdrew its bombers from the Gloucestershire base following reports of a new security threat.
The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that the bombers, believed to include about a dozen B-1s, had been moved back to their home stations in the US.
American media reported that the decision was prompted by a new threat.
The withdrawal follows a major incident on September 27, when police were alerted to three "suspicious vehicles" near the airbase.
A No 10 spokesperson said he would not comment on "foreign nations' military operations" but insisted the base was safe.
He pointed to comments by US President Donald Trump last week praising British police, defence and security services over their handling of the incident.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has also said the UK has "tried and tested approaches" to protect its military bases at home and overseas.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that he would not directly link the withdrawal to last week's incident. He said Washington retained full confidence in the security of its bases and that British authorities had been "very cooperative" since the incident.
RAF Fairford is at the centre of a counter-terrorism investigation by No 10.
Five men were initially arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences and later released on bail.
A sixth man, a British-Iranian national, was subsequently arrested and also released on bail.
Whitehall sources have not disputed reports that the US decision was made in response to the incident.
The BBC has been told the withdrawal was a military rather than political decision, taken at an operational level and communicated by US military authorities to their British counterparts.
Earlier on Monday, The New York Times reported that US commanders had received new intelligence about an alleged Iran-backed plot targeting RAF Fairford.
Two US officials said the information was linked to threat warnings issued about three weeks earlier, but that specific details had emerged in the previous 24 hours.
Ezra Cohen, a former defence official under Trump, described the decision to withdraw the bombers as "prudent", saying the B-1 was a strategic asset and that the US had a limited number of the aircraft.
Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson James MacCleary described the withdrawal as "deeply concerning" and called on the government to set out plans to ensure military bases were secure.
Days after the September 27 incident, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were "strong indications" that Iran had been involved, without providing further details.
Rubio separately said the incident "clearly involve[d] the hands of a foreign actor" pointing at Iran, though Tehran has strongly denied any involvement.
Iran had said in July that any base used for attacks on Iranian territory would be considered a legitimate target.
RAF Fairford, near Whelford in the Cotswolds, has served as a forward operating location for the US Air Force for decades.
In recent months, the US has operated B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base for missions in West Asia after Britain approved a US request to use the facility for defensive strikes against Iran.
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