00:00In the early hours of Sunday morning, colleagues at Gloucestershire Police received a report of suspicious vehicles in the vicinity
00:06of RAF Fairford.
00:08As a result of that information, armed officers responded and arrested five men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives
00:17Act
00:17and later preparation of a Terrorist Act under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act.
00:24The men had been travelling in three vehicles. Overnight, those vehicles have been subject to extensive examination with the support
00:33of military assets and forensic experts.
00:37I can confirm that following extensive interviews and enquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police
00:46bail this afternoon.
00:48To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over.
00:53However, they are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.
00:59They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry.
01:06I also know there is significant interest in whether the current geopolitical context has a bearing on this incident.
01:15At Counter-Terrorism Policing we are working within this context every single day and at this stage we are keeping
01:22an open mind in this investigation.
01:24We have, as you would expect, ensured that our protective security advice and posture remain commensurate to the threat.
01:33But be assured we are considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be actively committed by proxies
01:43or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state.
01:50To respond to incidents such as these, rapid mobilisation is necessary as we cannot take the risk whilst assessing that
01:58threat.
01:59However, once we understand the threat more clearly, we seek to return affected communities to normality as quickly as possible.
02:06I am also very conscious that there is a great deal of speculation about what may or may not have
02:11been previously known about potential threats or activity.
02:15As I hope the public will understand, I will not always be able to share this type of information.
02:20What I do ask is that the public understand that we work hand in glove with MI5 to keep them
02:27safe from a myriad of threats and do everything we can to protect them.
02:32Incidents such as this are a reminder of the importance of public vigilance.
02:36If you spot something that doesn't feel right, please let us know.
Comments