A dozen B-1s stationed at Gloucestershire base redeployed over concerns about possible threat from Iran
Ask our reporters your questions about the Iran war and the US midterms
Downing Street has insisted RAF Fairford is secure a day after the US air force suddenly withdrew a dozen B-1 bombers from the Gloucestershire base over security concerns about a possible threat from Iran.
The prime minister’s spokesperson, speaking during a scheduled briefing, said “yes” when asked if the military site was safe – contrasting with the concern the US military revealed during the hasty redeployment the day before.
Pointing to comments made last week by the defence secretary, Wes Streeting, the official said there were “tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world”.
Aircraft trackers reported that an entire squadron of 12 B-1 bombers based at Fairford had redeployed from the British base to the US on Sunday, a rapid movement that the Pentagon confirmed on Sunday evening.
US officials told the New York Times commanders had received new information about an Iran-backed plot against the base, which has been on high alert for more than a week. Some of the bombers left so quickly that refuelling aircraft had to be scrambled to support their flights to the US.
A report on ITV News said the US feared a multiple drone attack, similar to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, in which cheap small drones launched from trucks destroyed 10 Russian bombers in a coordinated attack in June last year.
But UK sources cast doubt on whether Iran had the capability to launch such a complex operation 2,700 miles away. The Ukrainian operation took about 18 months to plan.
Donald Trump said on Monday that the US had withdrawn the bombers from the base because of “some threats”, without saying what they were.
“There were some threats, and rather than tempting the enemy – we’ll capture the enemy and beat the enemy, but why should we leave them there? So we moved them around a little bit, not very far,” Trump said.
UK sources indicated they were not aware of a new terrorism threat to the base and that they would be surprised if Iran could orchestrate a fresh attack, a week after five men from London were arrested late at night having driven to a village near the base in white vans with an unclear purpose.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Monday that the redeployment of the bombers was not tied to the arrests and tried to downplay any discrepancies with the UK. He said the US was confident in the security of all its bases and “with the Brits, we’ve worked very closely for a long time, including on this investigation, and they couldn’t be more cooperative”.
Downing Street’s comments were the first made by the UK in the light of the US withdrawal. Neither the Ministry of Defence nor Gloucestershire police commented when asked if there was any additional threat to residents near the base. Other UK officials indicated they had not been briefed on US thinking.
RAF Fairford has already been on high alert for several weeks amid heightened US concern that Tehran could try to instigate an attack on the base, which was used for US air force bombing runs against Iran earlier this year. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in July that the base was a legitimate military target.
The hasty redeployment arguably represents a victory for Iran, forcing US bombers to retreat without any kind of attack taking place, though some experts said Washington was engaging in a wider redeployment that could lead to a scaling up of operations against Iran after the US midterm elections in November.
It is unclear what level of threat Tehran could pose to a base in the heart of the UK, though Iran destroyed a US Awacs radar plane on the tarmac during fighting in March. Missiles fired from Iran may be able to reach the UK but would be likely to be shot down first, and a drone attack would be a high-risk operation close to the base.
Experts cautioned there remained a lack of information. “Airfields are hard to defend, but the US could be making a point or just being very cautious,” said Matthew Savill, an expert with the Royal United Services Institute.
Developments in the UK have not so far matched the apparent level of US concern. The five men from London were arrested in Whelford, next to the base, on suspicion of carrying explosives, but they were not charged.
No explosive devices were found in the search of the vans or the men, though a barrel of petrol was recovered. All five were released on bail a day later.
Trump said afterwards that he was surprised they had been allowed out on bail. “We know everything about them, we would not have released them,” he said.
The prime minister, Andy Burnham, has been more muted. He said last week that there were “strong indications that Iran played a part” in the incident, but developments in the British investigation, led by counter-terrorism police, have been limited.
A sixth man, a dual UK-Iranian national, was arrested in London on Thursday on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism, but he was also released on bail on Saturday. Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the events in Gloucestershire were continuing, counter-terrorism police said.