RAF Fairford live updates: Streeting thanks farmer who alerted police but says she has ‘a partial picture’

The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, has spoken to the media from the Labour party conference this morning about the incident near RAF Fairford.

Streeting said he was grateful for the vigilance of the members of the public who are thought to have helped alert the emergency services to the suspected terror plot.

He renewed his thanks in particular to the local farmer who rang the police after she reportedly saw “a large group of hooded and masked men” near RAF Fairford early on Sunday morning.

Speaking to the BBC, the farmer said she thinks “someone dropped the ball” by allowing the suspects and their vehicles to get so close to people’s homes.

Streeting told Sky News:

Thank you to that member of the public. She has done exactly what we would hope that someone in that extraordinary situation would do.

I’m really grateful to her – I think she acted, by her own admission, quickly and thoughtfully, and she did the right thing.

With respect, though, she does only have a partial picture. And that’s as far as I wish to go this morning.

Key events

• 42m ago

  Farmer who called police saw 'large group of hooded and masked men' near RAF Fairford

• 1h ago

  Streeting thanks farmer who alerted police to suspicious activity but says she only has a 'partial picture'

• 1h ago

  Police investigate possible Iran link to suspected bomb plot

Speaking to reporters yesterday, the US president, Donald Trump, praised British law enforcement for their efforts, describing “the arrest in the UK” as “fantastic”.

“We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great,” he said.

Trump’s comments suggest that the suspects had been under careful surveillance for a long time. But his remarks are undermined by the fact the men were able to get so close to RAF Fairford, with the suspected plot only appearing to be foiled by a member of the public by chance.

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The incident comes as the war between the US and Iran limps on. In July, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps noted RAF Fairford’s use by US bombers, warning the UK that “any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces”.

Counter-terror police and the security services are searching for the motive. The circumstances of the arrest near the base and prior warnings from Tehran leave an Iranian motive high in the investigators’ and government’s thinking.

But sources warn nothing is being ruled out, including a jihadist or other motive, and the UK threat level remains at severe, the second highest, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Whether there was any foreign involvement forms part of the investigation, and Iran’s ministry of intelligence and security has orchestrated attacks overseas before.

Any proven link with Iran would be a dramatic escalation in hostilities between the UK and Tehran. While several recent incidents in the UK have been linked to the Middle-Eastern country, including the antisemitic arson attack on four Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green, the alleged plot at RAF Fairford appears to be significantly more serious.

You can read more on this story from my colleagues Jamie Grierson, Vikram Dodd and Helena Horton here:

The farmer who says she sounded the alarm spoke at length to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. Here is some of what she said:

I was coming home late from a party. On reaching our farm, I found both the driveway and the road blocked by three white vans… We had noticed some activity from what I assumed were plain-clothed police officers for the previous few days, so initially I thought perhaps this was more of the same.

I had no choice but to turn my vehicle around and return back the way I came. On driving a short distance from the vans, I saw a large group of hooded and masked men. When they saw me, they ran ahead of me, some into the field and some towards the neighbouring village of Kempsford.

I then realised that something highly unusual was taking place. In light of my awareness of a security threat to the base, I immediately called the MoD (Ministry of Defence) police, the phone rang out and they didn’t answer.

At 1.36am I called 999 to report what I had seen. Within 10 minutes, the village was full of armed police. I think it was pure luck that I arrived in the village at a similar time to the vans.

I am absolutely staggered that it was left to me, as a member of the public, to see and report this. The airbase were operating a roadblock close to the entrance to the base, but not on any of the other roads.

But we assumed someone would be monitoring the roads around the base perimeter and taking regular patrols in the village. Clearly, this was not happening, and I believe that my 999 call foiled whatever plans they had.

Even more surprising that, following my call at 1.36am, the police were aware of the presence of the three vans, but didn’t evacuate the village until 6am.

No one from the police has been in touch to ask me anything about it. I think they were hyper-focused and vigilant about the base itself, and had absolutely no regard for our village.

The vans were within metres of houses, and those people were left unaware, apart from the fact that I sent a message to our village WhatsApp group, hoping that some people would be awake and could make sure their doors were locked… I’m just really keen to highlight that it appears someone really dropped the ball on this.

The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, has spoken to the media from the Labour party conference this morning about the incident near RAF Fairford.

Streeting said he was grateful for the vigilance of the members of the public who are thought to have helped alert the emergency services to the suspected terror plot.

He renewed his thanks in particular to the local farmer who rang the police after she reportedly saw “a large group of hooded and masked men” near RAF Fairford early on Sunday morning.

Speaking to the BBC, the farmer said she thinks “someone dropped the ball” by allowing the suspects and their vehicles to get so close to people’s homes.

Streeting told Sky News:

Thank you to that member of the public. She has done exactly what we would hope that someone in that extraordinary situation would do.

I’m really grateful to her – I think she acted, by her own admission, quickly and thoughtfully, and she did the right thing.

With respect, though, she does only have a partial picture. And that’s as far as I wish to go this morning.

Good morning and welcome to our coverage of events at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire as counter-terrorism police investigate whether Iran is behind a suspected bomb plot at the base which is used by the US military to carry out missions in the Middle East.

Five men held near the base early on Sunday were initially detained over explosives offences and then were further arrested later in the day on suspicion of the preparation of a terrorist act.

It came after armed officers found explosives on three vans parked minutes from the base. The suspected plot appears to have been foiled by chance when a local farmer spotted unusual behaviour late at night in the countryside from a group of men and called 999.

Dozens of households in the Cotswolds village of Whelford were subsequently evacuated during the operation and have still not returned to their home. Stay with us for further developments.