No 10 insists RAF Fairford is safe after US withdraws bombers
US media reported a new threat led to the bombers being removed on Sunday, following an incident near the base last week.
Downing Street has insisted that RAF Fairford remains safe following the US withdrawal of its bombers from the base. The Pentagon confirmed the removal of around a dozen B-1 bombers back to their home stations in America on Sunday. The US media cited a new threat as the reason for the removal, following a major incident on September 27 involving three suspicious vehicles near the airbase.
Downing Street would not comment on foreign nations' military operations but pointed to remarks made by US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting regarding the base's defenses. RAF Fairford, located in the Cotswolds of Gloucestershire, has been a key location for US Air Force operations, including B-1 and B-52 bomber flights in recent months.
Residents near the base expressed relief at the bombers' departure, citing noise and a growing sense of vulnerability in recent weeks. Counter-terror police are investigating the incident, and five men were initially arrested on suspicion of terror offenses before being released on bail. A sixth man, a UK-Iranian national, was also arrested and released on bail.
Whitehall sources have confirmed that the US's decision to remove the bombers was in response to the incident at RAF Fairford, though it was deemed an operational decision communicated from the US military to its British counterparts.
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