Downing Street insists RAF Fairford is safe after US bombers withdrawn

Downing Street has insisted RAF Fairford is safe after the US withdrew all of its bombers from the military base. The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that it had removed its bombers, thought to be about a dozen B-1s, from the base back to their home stations in America. US media reported that a new threat led to the aircraft being withdrawn, following a major incident on 27 September when police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the airbase.

A No 10 spokesperson said he would not comment on foreign nations' military operations, but said the base was safe, and pointed to US President Donald Trump's comments last week, in which he praised our police, defence and security services in relation to the base. He added that Defence Secretary Wes Streeting had said last week that Britain had tried and tested approaches to defend its bases around the country and throughout the world.

RAF Fairford, in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, is at the centre of an incident being investigated by counter-terror police. Five men were initially arrested on suspicion of terror offences and subsequently released on bail. A sixth man, a UK-Iranian national, was also later arrested and released on bail. Whitehall sources have not disputed that the decision from Washington to remove the bombers was a response to the incident at the airbase.

The BBC has also been told it was a military rather than a political decision, taken at an operational level and communicated from the US military to its British counterparts. Earlier on Monday, the New York Times reported that US commanders had received new threats about an Iran-backed plot against RAF Fairford, according to two US officials. The newspaper wrote that the new information was part of the same threat warnings from three weeks ago, but that officials acted quickly after specific details emerged in the past 24 hours.

Ezra Cohen, who served as a defence official under Trump's first administration, called the US decision prudent. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: These are very, very unique platforms that aren't being produced anymore, and we have a limited number of them. The B-1 bomber is a strategic asset, and we're going to take steps to protect it from all sorts of threats.

James MacCleary, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson, called the US decision to withdraw its bombers deeply concerning and urged the government to set out a plan to ensure the country's military bases are fit for purpose. Days after the incident at RAF Fairford, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were strong indications that Iran had played a part, but did not provide further details. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox News that it clearly involved the hands of a foreign actor, without going into further detail.

Tehran has strongly denied any involvement. In July, Iran said that any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces. RAF Fairford, near the village of Whelford in the Cotswolds, has been used as a forward operating location by the US Air Force for decades. In recent months, the US has flown B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base for the Middle East, after the UK approved a US request to use it for defensive strikes on Iran.

Residents living close to RAF Fairford told the BBC of their relief at the departure of bombers from the airbase. One local said she was thrilled, citing the noise and a feeling of being increasingly vulnerable in recent weeks. Another villager, who said he has seen bombs being loaded aboard aircraft from his back garden, said he knew something was happening when he saw planes leaving one after another on Sunday.