British police found fuel but no explosives at Fairford scene | Today’s news
(Bloomberg) — British counter-terrorism police investigating an incident at an airbase used by the U.S. to carry out strikes in Iran said they found fuel but no explosives at the site.
“No improvised explosive devices were found. However, a quantity of petrol was found,” Laurence Taylor, head of Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said in an emailed statement.
He said investigations were continuing into the five men who were arrested and later released on bail. Taylor defended the decision to release the men, which was criticized by President Donald Trump on Monday.
Investigators still consider a conspiracy, potentially involving representatives of Iran, to be the most likely explanation for the incident, but they are keeping an open mind and other options remain on the table, according to people familiar with the investigation. They said the men were not fuel thieves, refuting online speculation that the police operation to apprehend them may have been a misunderstanding.
Commenting on the decision to release the man on bail, Taylor said: “I understand why many were surprised by this development, but I would like to reiterate that this was an investigative decision based on experience and careful consideration of police powers.
The statement offered no further details to elaborate on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s suggestion on Monday that a “foreign actor” was involved in the incident.
RAF Fairford serves as the preferred forward operating base for bomber aircraft in Europe for the US Air Force Global Strike Command. In July, Prime Minister Andy Burnham approved the use of the base by the United States for “defensive strikes” against Iran, continuing the policy of his predecessor, Keir Starmer.
Iran’s embassy in London said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” what it dismisses as “baseless and malicious” attempts to link the case to Iran. Such speculation would “serve no other purpose than to promote Iranophobia propaganda in the UK,” the embassy said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
On Sunday, Trump praised the UK for acting quickly and suggested those involved were being watched. “We’ve had our eye on them for a long time,” he said. However, he said on Monday that he would not release the man on bail. “I’m surprised they let them go. I wouldn’t do it,” he said.
(Update with the investigators’ thinking in the fourth paragraph.)
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