Suspect in alleged plot against British base called police before arrest, UK media report
By Lex Harvey, CNN
(CNN) — One of the suspects in the alleged plot targeting a UK airbase used by the US military called the police shortly before they were arrested, multiple British media outlets have reported.
The five men were arrested early Sunday on suspicion of explosive offenses and later terrorism charges near a Royal Air Force base at Fairford in western England, from where US B-1 bombers have been flying missions against Iran.
The incident triggered a major security response in the area and sparked alarm on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as accusations of foreign involvement.
The five men were quickly released on bail and police have now confirmed no explosives were found in three vans at the scene, but the investigation remains ongoing.
The latest revelation that one of the men called the police, was first reported by The Times of London, followed by the Guardian and the BBC, deepens the mystery.
The Times and BBC both reported that the call from the suspect to 999, the emergency number used in Britain, came almost an hour before a female farmer alerted authorities after seeing a group of masked men and three white vans.
The Times reported police were already on the scene when that later call from the local resident came in. The paper added police were investigating whether the suspect got cold feet or whether making such a call was part of the plan.
In their latest public statements, British police have indicated there may have been more than one trigger that sparked them into action.
“A police response was activated in the early hours of Sunday morning due to a range of information received, including a call from a member of the public about several vehicles acting suspiciously close to RAF Fairford,” Laurence Taylor, a senior counter-terrorism police officer, told reporters.
Taylor said “no improvised explosive devices were found” in vehicles used by the men, but that “a quantity of petrol was recovered.”
Police are planning to close down their investigative operations at Fairford by Wednesday, he added.
The suspects, who have been identified only as British nationals aged between 23 and 25 from the London area, were released on bail Monday. Taylor defended the move as an “investigative decision” following criticism from US President Donald Trump, who said “I wouldn’t have done that.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday the suspected terror plot “clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor,” after Trump said the suspects “might be” connected to Iran.
Iran has strongly denied any involvement. The UK has yet to publicly confirm any foreign link, though Taylor earlier said police were looking into it.
Trump has suggested authorities were already looking into the group before the arrests were made – however UK authorities have not yet confirmed that.
The-CNN-Wire
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