Update: 18:00 29 September 2026
Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said:
Since the arrests of five men on Sunday morning, our teams have been working quickly to investigate the circumstances surrounding the activity close to RAF Fairford.
I want to thank the people of Whelford and those in the nearby area who have been impacted by the ongoing activity.
We are continuing to reduce the investigative scenes around RAF Fairford, and by tomorrow we anticipate we will have closed them down completely. This will be an important step towards restoring normality for the local community.
As part of the investigation, we have searched properties in London which I can confirm have concluded.
The events over the last few days have reaffirmed that the public play a crucial role in the work we do. And I want to thank those who have contacted the police with information.
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.
Those vehicles have been subject to extensive examination, with the support of military assets and forensic experts, and we can confirm that no improvised explosive devices were found. However, a quantity of petrol was recovered.
Yesterday we released the five men on police bail. They remain under investigation and must adhere to strict conditions while we continue our work. The safety of the public is at the forefront of our investigative decision making, and this was certainly the case yesterday.
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, and one which is grounded in experience and careful consideration of policing powers.
Thank you again to the local community near RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire Police, and our many partners in the UK and the US who are supporting this investigation.
Update: 16:00 28 September 2026
Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, has provided an update this afternoon (Monday, 28 September) on the ongoing investigation into the incident at RAF Fairford. He said:
In the early hours of Sunday morning, colleagues at Gloucestershire Police received a report of suspicious vehicles in the vicinity of RAF Fairford.
As a result of that information, armed officers responded, and arrested five men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and later, preparation of a terrorist act under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act.
The men had been travelling in three vehicles. Overnight, those vehicles have been subject to extensive examination, with the support of military assets and forensic experts.
We still have significant resources deployed at the scene, and a cordon remains in place whilst investigators continue their work. However, we are hopeful to reduce this later today and get residents back to their homes. We will provide further updates on this in due course.
I know, for the people who call this area, and RAF Fairford, home, this has been a hugely disruptive incident. Thank you for your support and patience.
I can confirm that following extensive interviews and enquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon.
To be very clear, this does not mean the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry.
I know there is significant interest in whether the current geopolitical context has a bearing on this incident.
At Counter Terrorism Policing we are working within this context every day, and at this stage we are keeping an open mind in this investigation. We have, as you would expect, ensured that our protective security advice and posture remain commensurate to the threat.
But be assured, we are considering this from every possible angle.
Including, that this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state.
To respond to incidents such as these, rapid mobilisation is necessary as we cannot take the risk whilst assessing the threat. However, once we understand the threat more clearly, we seek to return affected communities to normality as quickly as possible.
I have spoken before about the increasing breadth and complexity of the threats we are facing.
Often this threat becomes visible to us as criminal activity, often at a small scale and committed by individuals whose primary aim is not terrorism but a quick financial gain. It can be harder to spot, and to that end I would ask the public to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to police.
I am also very conscious that there is a great deal of speculation about what may or may not have been known previously about potential threats or activity.
As I hope the public understand, I will not always be able to share this type of information. What I do ask is that the public understand that we work hand in glove with MI5 to keep them safe from a myriad of threats and do everything we can to protect them.
Incidents such as this are a reminder of the importance of public vigilance, if you spot something that doesn’t feel right let us know.
Thank you.
Incident at RAF Fairfold – Sunday 27 September, 13:50
Counter Terrorism Policing can now confirm they are leading an investigation into an incident which took place overnight near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
At around 12.45am today (Sunday 27 September), police received a call relating to three suspicious vehicles which appeared to be travelling towards the air base.
Armed officers responded and five men were arrested in the Whelford area on suspicion of committing offences under the Explosives Act. They were further arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act.
Counter Terrorism Policing Senior National Coordinator, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said: We are in the early stages of an investigation, and five men remain in custody. As you would expect we are working closely with our partners to understand the circumstances of the incident.
“We continue to work with Gloucestershire Police to keep the community safe as we work to gather evidence from the scene. A 400m cordon has been put in place around the vehicles while the Army’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit conduct examinations. As a precaution, around 85 households have been evacuated whilst these examinations take place.”
Gloucestershire Police Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone said: “The emergency services have well-rehearsed plans for dealing with major incidents. A cordon is in place as a precaution and the public can expect to see an emergency services presence in the area for some time.
“A nearby leisure centre has been opened to provide a safe space for anyone evacuated and unable to go to friends or relatives. We’d like to thank the residents who have left their homes this morning for their understanding and support. We appreciate the disruption this will have caused and would like to reassure them we are working as quickly as we can to get them back in their properties.
“We would ask the public not to speculate but to follow official channels for updates.”
Counter Terrorism Policing is appealing to anyone with information with may assist the investigation to report it via gov.uk/ACT or by calling the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.