The suspects remain under investigation after being arrested near the strategically important airbase on Sunday on suspicion of explosives offences and preparing a terrorist act.
All five have since been released on police bail following what Counter Terrorism Policing described as “extensive interviews and inquiries”. The decision has attracted attention in the United States, with President Donald Trump saying he was “surprised” the suspects had been released.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also claimed the alleged plot “clearly involves the hand of a foreign actor”. British investigators have not attributed the incident to any country and say they are examining “every possible angle”.
The investigation began after three suspicious white vans were reported near RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday. Five British men, aged between 23 and 25 and all from London, were arrested.
They are a 24-year-old man from Camden, three men aged 23, 24 and 25 from Westminster and a 24-year-old man from Willesden. The men were initially arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act before being further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “To be very clear, this does not mean the investigation is over.” He said the men “absolutely remain under investigation” as detectives continue to pursue several lines of inquiry.
Investigators are also examining whether the alleged activity involved proxies or people “either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state”. President Trump has questioned the decision to release the suspects on bail.
Speaking from the Oval Office, he said: “I’m surprised that they released them. I wouldn’t have done that.” Asked whether Iran was involved, he said: “I know the answer. I can be very specific, but I’d rather not say it.”
Trump had previously claimed the suspects had been under observation for some time and were “looking to do big damage”. Rubio has since claimed the incident “clearly involves the hand of a foreign actor”, but did not identify who he believed was responsible.
That claim has not been confirmed by British investigators and Iran has denied any involvement. Streeting has meanwhile suggested the public does not have the complete picture of events leading up to the arrests.
A local farmer said she alerted police after encountering three vans and a group of hooded and masked men. She later questioned security around RAF Fairford and claimed authorities had “dropped the ball”.
Streeting said: “Thank you to that member of the public.
“She has done exactly what we would hope that someone in that extraordinary situation would do.
“I think she acted, by her own admission, quickly and thoughtfully, and she did the right thing.
“With respect, though, she does only have a partial picture, and that’s as far as I wish to go.”
Streeting said he could not discuss details of security operations.
The comments leave questions over what British and US authorities knew before the arrests, particularly after Trump claimed the suspects had been under observation “for a long time”. Material examined following the arrests is understood not to have been viable explosives.
Army bomb disposal specialists spent hours examining the three vehicles and a 400-metre cordon was established around the scene. Around 85 households in Whelford were evacuated while the operation was carried out.
Residents were allowed home on Monday evening, although a police cordon remained around the vehicles. The terrorism investigation is continuing, with officers examining the intentions and movements of the suspects, material recovered during the operation and whether anyone else was involved.
RAF Fairford, despite being across the Gloucestershire border, is closely linked with Swindon and Wiltshire. Thousands of people from the area usually travel to the base for the Royal International Air Tattoo.
The 2026 event was cancelled after RAF Fairford was required for operational military use by the United States amid the conflict with Iran.
No link between Iran and the five men arrested near RAF Fairford has been publicly established. Streeting has warned against drawing conclusions while the investigation continues.
He said Britain should not be “cowed by sabre rattling from Iran” or allow threats from Tehran “to dictate our foreign policy, our defence posture, or any of our other choices”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a Cobra emergency meeting on Monday as the investigation continued.
Counter-terrorism police have urged people not to speculate while detectives work to establish what the suspects were allegedly planning, why the vehicles were near RAF Fairford and whether anyone else was involved.
