UK Police Arrest Latvian Men Found at Second Airbase Used by US

British police arrested two men on suspicion of trespassing and national security offenses at an airbase that’s used by the US for intelligence and analysis work, just weeks after a suspected terror plot at another base that was home to American bombers.

(Bloomberg) -- British police arrested two men on suspicion of trespassing and national security offenses at an airbase that’s used by the US for intelligence and analysis work, just weeks after a suspected terror plot at another base that was home to American bombers.

The two men, both Latvian nationals in their 30s, were arrested late Wednesday following security patrols near RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. Officers found a “small breach” of the perimeter fence, counterterror police said in a statement. 

There was nothing to suggest at this stage that the two separate airbase incidents were related, police said, adding that their investigation was at an early stage and that they were keeping an open mind about the motive.

RAF Molesworth, located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of London, houses the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe and is garrisoned by a US Air Force group.

The incursion will deepen scrutiny of the security at airbases in Britain that are used by US forces, as the UK warns of an escalation in sabotage plots involving so-called proxies directed by Iran and Russia.

The Pentagon evacuated its bombers at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire last week after five men were found near the base along with three vans and a quantity of fuel. Several other arrests have since been made and the probe is ongoing. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said it was likely that Iran was involved in the incident.

President Donald Trump’s decision to move the bombers may embolden Iran and Russia’s use of proxies to carry out sabotage attacks, current and former British officials told Bloomberg. The UK is concerned that hostile states will take confidence that they can force changes to Western defense arrangements and destabilize their enemies for the relatively small cost of hiring local criminal proxies, the people said.

Richard Knighton, the head of Britain’s armed forces, said on Thursday that the country’s bases were safe. “We take the security of all of our bases in Europe enormously seriously,” he said, calling the US move an “operational decision.” Knighton added that the UK has “enormously close relationships from an intelligence perspective and operationally with the US, and that’s what gives me confidence around the safety and security of our bases here.”

--With assistance from Sachin Ravikumar.

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