RAF Fairford 'bomb plot' was foiled when 'one of the suspects rang the police on himself'
The alleged bomb plot at an RAF base was foiled when one of the suspects rang police himself, it has emerged.
One of the five men arrested close to RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday called 999.
After receiving the 999 call, armed police rushed to the scene in Gloucestershire and rounded up the suspects, removing their clothing amid fears they may have been wearing suicide vests.
On Tuesday, police revealed that no improvised explosive devices were found in the three vans involved in the suspected terror plot.
In an update on the case, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Laurence Taylor, said a quantity of petrol had been recovered from the vehicles.
A farmer who came across the suspicious vans near the base in the early hours of Sunday said she saw 'eight to 10 masked men' running around in the woods and across fields. It is now understood those figures in the dark were armed police.
Why a suspect would call 999 is under investigation, with questions ranging from whether he was trying to back out of something or whether it may have been part of a plan.
One line of inquiry is understood to be whether the Iran-linked drama was not actually a foiled attack but a stunt, or calling card, to send a message to British and US authorities.
Counter terrorism police are continuing to investigate after petrol was recovered from vans found near RAF Fairford
Five men were pictured as police arrested them on terror charges near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. They are all British, from London, and in their 20s, police said - and have all since been released on bail
The residents of 85 evacuated households in the nearby village of Whelford were allowed to return home on Monday after 'explosives' at the scene were found not to be viable.
Five men from London, aged between 23 and 25, were detained on suspicion of explosive and terrorism offences close to the airbase, which is used by the US Air Force to conduct strikes against Iran.
However, they were bailed within 36 hours and Tehran 'categorically' denied any involvement.
The US Secretary of State said o Tuesday that the suspected terrorist plot 'clearly involves the hand of a foreign actor'.
Marco Rubio stopped short of directly blaming Iran – but noted the regime had 'openly threatened to attack US interests globally'.
Assistant Commissioner Mr Taylor said: 'We can confirm that no improvised explosive devices were found. However, a quantity of petrol was recovered. Yesterday we released the five men on police bail.
'They remain under investigation and must adhere to strict conditions while we continue our work.
'I understand why this development will have come as a surprise to many, but I'd like to reiterate that it was an investigative decision, and one which is grounded in experience and careful consideration of policing powers.'
Police officers guard an area as roadblocks remain in place near RAF Fairford airbase, after police declared a major incident at the base
Searches of the London homes of the five men have been completed and police cordons near the base are expected to be removed today.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump suggested the men were already known to the authorities and said he was 'surprised' they had been released.
And in an interview with Fox News, Mr Rubio said: 'What could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation.
'It's one that clearly involves the hand of a foreign actor. I won't get into great detail about that yet.'
He added: 'I know a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail, as some of the people are being investigated and obviously we're engaging with them [UK authorities] on all of that.
'I think it ties us to the reality here, and that is, we are dealing with elements in the world and, in the case of Iran, for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally.
'We're going to always take that very seriously.
'There'll be repercussions for that if it ever were to happen or even attempted.'
Iran said it 'categorically rejects' any involvement in the suspected plot, with its embassy criticising the 'circulation of... fabricated speculations'.
The state of alert at US airbases at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, both in Suffolk, was increased to 'Charlie' – the second-highest level – in response to the incident.
It followed residents near RAF Fairford saying that armed officers at the base had been ordering people to stay home as early as Saturday afternoon because an 'attack was imminent'.
But checks by this newspaper found little evidence of heightened security at the East Anglian bases.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.