Streeting thanks farmer who alerted police to suspicious activity but says she only has a ‘partial picture’
The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, has spoken to the media from the Labour party conference this morning about the incident near RAF Fairford.
Streeting said he was grateful for the vigilance of the members of the public who are thought to have helped alert the emergency services to the suspected terror plot.
He renewed his thanks in particular to the local farmer who rang the police after she reportedly saw “a large group of hooded and masked men” near RAF Fairford early on Sunday morning.
Speaking to the BBC, the farmer said she thinks “someone dropped the ball” by allowing the suspects and their vehicles to get so close to people’s homes.
Streeting told Sky News:
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’m really grateful to her – 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 this morning.
Key events
Police investigate possible Iran link to suspected bomb plot
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of events at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire as counter-terrorism police investigate whether Iran is behind a suspected bomb plot at the base which is used by the US military to carry out missions in the Middle East.
Five men detained near the base early on Sunday were initially detained over explosives offences and then were further arrested later in the day on suspicion of the preparation of a terrorist act.
It came after armed officers found explosives on three vans parked minutes from the base. The suspected plot appears to have been foiled by chance when a local farmer spotted unusual behaviour late at night in the countryside from a group of men and called 999.
Dozens of households in the Cotswolds village of Whelford were subsequently evacuated during the operation and have still not returned to their home. Stay with us for further developments.
