No 10 insists RAF Fairford is safe after US withdraws bombers from base | American military

Downing Street insisted RAF Fairford was safe a day after the US Air Force suddenly withdrew a dozen B-1 bombers parked at the Gloucestershire base over security concerns over a possible Iranian threat.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson, speaking at a scheduled press briefing, replied “yes” when asked if the military site was safe – contrasting with the concern shown by the US military during the hasty redeployment the day before.

Referencing comments made last week by Defense Secretary Wes Streeting, the official said there are “proven approaches to defending our bases across the country and around the world,” with an emphasis on air base protection.

Plane trackers reported that an entire squadron of 12 B-1 bombers based at Fairford redeployed Sunday evening from the British base to the United States, a rapid move that was confirmed by the Pentagon Sunday evening.

U.S. officials told the New York Times that commanders had received new threats over an Iranian-backed plot against the site. Some bombers departed so quickly that refueling planes had to be scrambled to support their flights to the United States.

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said on Monday that military deployments were normal and tried to downplay any differences with the UK. He said the United States was confident in the security of all its bases and that “we have worked closely with the British for a long time, including on this investigation, and they could not be more cooperative.”

The comments from Downing Street are the first made by British authorities in light of the US withdrawal. No comment was made by the Ministry of Defense or Gloucestershire Police when asked if there was an additional threat to residents near the base. Other British officials said they had not been briefed on American thinking.

RAF Fairford has already been on alert for several weeks, amid heightened American concern over a possible attempt by Tehran to launch an attack on the base, which was used for US air force bombings against Iran earlier this year. In July, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared the base a legitimate military target.

It is unclear what level of threat Iran might pose to a military base in the heart of the UK, although Iran destroyed US planes on the tarmac during fighting earlier this year. Missiles fired from Iran could reach the UK but would likely be shot down first; a drone attack would be a high-risk operation near the base.

Developments in the UK have not yet reached the apparent level of US warnings. At the end of September, five men from London driving white vans to Whelford, a village near the base, were arrested in the early hours on suspicion of transporting explosives.

No explosive devices were found during the search, but a barrel of gasoline was recovered. All five were released on police bail a day later, raising questions about what they had done.

Subsequently, US President Donald Trump said he was “surprised” that the five men had been released on bail. “We know everything about them, we wouldn’t have released them,” he said.

Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, was more discreet. Last week he said there were “strong indications that Iran played a role” in the incident, but developments in the British investigation, led by counter-terrorism police, have been limited.

A sixth man, a dual British and Iranian national, was arrested in Westminster, London on Thursday on suspicion of planning terrorism, but was also released on police bail on Saturday. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the events in Gloucestershire are continuing, counter-terrorism police added.