British police arrest Latvian men found at second air base used by US

(Bloomberg) — British police arrested two men on suspicion of crossing the border and national security offenses at an air base used by the U.S. for intelligence and analysis work, just weeks after a suspected terrorist plot at another base that was home to U.S. bombers.

The two men, both Latvian nationals in their 30s, were arrested late on Wednesday following a security patrol near RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. Officers found a “small breach” in the perimeter fence, counter-terrorism police said in a statement.

There was no indication at this stage that the two separate incidents at the air base were linked, police said, adding that their investigation was in the early stages and they were keeping a motive open.

RAF Molesworth, located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of London, is home to the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe and is manned by a group of US air forces.

The invasion will tighten security checks on air bases in Britain used by US forces as the UK warns of escalating sabotage plans involving so-called proxies run by Iran and Russia.

The Pentagon evacuated its bombers at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire last week after five men were found near the base along with three vans and a quantity of fuel. Since then, several more arrests have been made and the investigation is still ongoing. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said it was likely Iran was involved in the incident.

President Donald Trump’s decision to move the bombers may encourage Iran and Russia to use proxies to carry out sabotage attacks, current and former British officials told Bloomberg. The U.K. fears that hostile states will have confidence that they can force changes in Western defense measures and destabilize their enemies at the relatively low cost of hiring local criminal agents, the people said.

Richard Knighton, the head of Britain’s armed forces, said on Thursday that bases in the country were safe. “We take the security of all our bases in Europe extremely seriously,” he said, calling the US move an “operational decision”. Knighton added that the UK has a “tremendously close relationship intelligence-wise and operationally with the US and that’s what gives me confidence about the safety and security of our bases here”.

–With help from Sachin Ravikumar.

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