A UK probe into a suspected bomb plot at an airbase used by the United States was mired in confusion Tuesday, as police said no explosives but a "quantity of petrol" was found in vehicles seized nearby. Police were called to the Royal Air Force Fairford base in southwest England on Sunday after a resident saw several vans "acting suspiciously", triggering an evacuation of the nearby village and the declaration of a "major incident". "Those vehicles have been subject to extensive examination ... and we can confirm that no improvised explosive devices were found.
However, a quantity of petrol was recovered," National Counter Terrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said. There have been huge questions around the incident after five London-based Britons were released on bail Monday after being arrested early Sunday on explosives and terror offences, with Washington criticising their release. "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," Taylor added, after US President Donald Trump said he was "surprised" by the decision.
Read moreTrump 'surprised' UK granted bail to suspects in alleged airbase terror plot "I wouldn't have done that," Trump told reporters, as his Secretary of State Marco Rubio alleged a "foreign actor" was involved. Speculation was rife about the incident near the Fairford airbase, which is used by the US military to launch strikes on Iran. Iran's embassy in London has said it "categorically rejects and strongly condemns" speculation that Tehran was involved.
The latest update lends credibility to some theories that the men could be fuel thieves – as energy prices rise in the UK. But the scare forced 85 homes in a nearby village to be evacuated, with many residents having to stay elsewhere for at least one night. Police said they had searched homes in London and were hoping to stand down investigative operations on Wednesday.
A resident in the neighbouring village of Kempsford, Patricia, 60, told it was "very embarrassing that people around the world thought it was a terrorist attack but in the end no– it's a lot of noise for nothing". The security scare became public after a farmer living in the village of Whelford near the airbase rang police after seeing the three vans blocking a road and a group of masked men fleeing the scene. Armed officers arrested the five men– all London residents in their mid-20s – on suspicion of explosives offences and, later, "suspicion of preparing a terrorist act" under anti-terror laws.
Police said the men "remain under investigation and must adhere to strict conditions while we continue our work". Security at the base had reportedly been heightened recently. Britain gave Washington permission in March to use Fairford for "specific defensive operations into Iran" to destroy Iranian missiles at source.
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