Threat was to RAF Mildenhall not to the town, says MP

Timothy said: "Information is still being kept very tight and obviously it's about national security, so there are limits to what the Ministry of Defence and US Air Force are likely to say publicly."

He encouraged people to be vigilant and report anything that might be out of the ordinary to the authorities.

"These are national security issues, and with these kinds of threats it's not like in a James Bond movie - you get fragments of information and you can't act with total certainty all the time.

"There's a reason why information is kept quite tight in these circumstances, but what I do always say and I sadly say it right now, is that subject to those obvious national security constraints, it's really important that the Ministry of Defence and the US Air Force communicate as openly as possible with residents so that people can stay informed and they can know what to look out for and what to do if they do see things out of the ordinary.

"That's why ministers have been talking to me over the last day or two," he added.

Monday's departures from RAF Mildenhall followed a security incident at RAF Fairford, a US-operated airbase in Gloucestershire.

The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.

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