‘I’m surprised’: Trump at odds with UK police after five terror suspects released

London: British police have released five men they arrested over a suspected terror plot near a Royal Air Force base, setting off a political row over the nature of the threat and whether the men should be free in the community.

The police imposed tight conditions on the men, all British nationals, but the decision was soon criticised by US President Donald Trump, who declared that he would not have released them from detention.

The suspects were released on bail about 38 hours after they were detained near the perimeter of the base used by American aircraft to strike Iran.

“I’m surprised they released them, I wouldn’t have,” said Trump, speaking in the White House about four hours after the police statement about their release.

“We know everything about them, we would not have released them.”

While Trump praised the UK authorities for arresting the suspects, his remarks widened the gulf between US and UK statements about the incident. The US president has said several times that the men were under surveillance before the incident, but no UK authority has corroborated this claim.

Amid growing speculation about the scale of the threat, the Iranian government angrily declared it had no role in the incident. Trump, however, told reporters in the White House that Iran “might” be behind the attack.

Police arrested the five men at the Fairford air base before dawn on Sunday after residents saw men in black balaclavas running toward the secure area.

Hours later, in his first remarks on the case, Trump claimed the suspects had been under surveillance for a “long time” and were attempting to do “big damage” to the base.

The president’s statement stirred up doubts in Britain over the true nature of the threat when it emerged that the first person to report the threat was a farmer who came upon the group when she was driving down a local road.

The farmer said she saw the men at 1.30am on Sunday (10.30am AEST) and called the police. News of the incident reached the media later on Sunday and police confirmed they had arrested and detained five men. Media coverage showed a bomb disposal robot checking three white vans driven to the scene by the suspects.

Local police said the five were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and that Counter Terrorism Policing had taken over the investigation.

On Monday, however, the British media reported that no explosives were found in the vans.

The counter-terror police confirmed the five were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act and preparation of a terrorist act contrary to the Terrorism Act. The five were described as British nationals living in London and aged from 23 to 25.

CTP assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said the men were released on police bail following “extensive” interviews.

“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over,” he said about 4pm in London (1am Tuesday AEST).

“They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of enquiry.”

He added that the case might have involved “proxies” such as people who were hired to work on behalf of a foreign state, either knowingly or unknowingly.

The Iranian ambassador to the UK, Seyed Ali Mousavi, told The Times in March that the American use of the British base was a “very important matter” for Iran to consider when deciding how to strike back and defend itself.

The Iranian embassy on Monday denied any role in the incident and denounced claims that its government was involved.

“The circulation of such fabricated speculations, particularly in the aftermath of the criminal acts of aggression committed by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Iranian people, will serve no purpose other than to fuel Iranophobia propaganda in the UK,” it said.

“Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to take appropriate legal measures, as necessary, to safeguard the rights and interests of the country and its people in response to misleading and damaging media narratives.”

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