SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
London: A stunning new report has deepened the mystery over a suspected attack on a British air base by asserting the plot was uncovered when one of the alleged perpetrators called police.
One of the five men arrested at the scene had called an emergency phone line in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to a report in The Times of London.
The call was made shortly before police detained the group near three white vans that were later checked for explosives at the perimeter of the Royal Air Force base at Fairford, the newspaper said.
The new detail emerged after police revealed that the vans held stores of petrol but did not carry explosives.
The developments have heightened speculation that the plot was an attempt by a foreign power, such as Iran or possibly Russia, to test British defences by hiring “proxies” to drive to the air base.
Concerns about the scale of the threat rose on Sunday when media footage showed a bomb disposal robot checking the vans, which were painted to look like commercial vehicles carrying fuel.
The suspect’s motives in calling police are now part of the investigation, The Times said, and it was not known whether his call was part of the plot or a sign he had second thoughts about the plan. It said he made the call to the 999 emergency line, the equivalent of the Australia’s 000 service.
Police have not commented on the report, but confirmed further details on Tuesday night (about 3am on Wednesday, AEST).
The head of National Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said the vehicles had been checked as part of the investigation.
“Those vehicles have been subject to extensive examination, with the support of military assets and forensic experts, and we can confirm that no improvised explosive devices were found,” he said.
“However, a quantity of petrol was recovered.
“Yesterday we released the five men on police bail. They remain under investigation and must adhere to strict conditions while we continue our work.
“The safety of the public is at the forefront of our investigative decision-making, and this was certainly the case yesterday.”
Taylor acknowledged the release on bail would have come as a surprise to many people, but he said it was an investigative decision and was “grounded in experience” and a careful consideration of policing powers.
Police arrested the five men at the Fairford air base before dawn on Sunday.
Hours later, US President Donald Trump said the suspects had been under surveillance for a “long time” and were attempting to do “big damage” to the base.
No British minister or police spokesperson has said the suspects had been under surveillance.
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.
Gloucestershire Police said they received a call at around 12.45am on Sunday – about 9.45am, AEST – about three suspicious vehicles travelling towards RAF Fairford.
Separately, a local farmer told the London Telegraph that she saw the men and the vans on a local road at about 1.30am on Sunday – about 10.30am on Sunday, AEST – and drove away quickly to alert the police.
“I saw a group of Middle Eastern-looking young guys running off through the trees,” she told The Telegraph.
“Some of them had masks or balaclavas on, and they all scattered ahead of us as we drove back past.”
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has not named Iran as the source of the threat but has hinted that it was a possibility. “We know that Iran and their proxies wish to do us harm,” he said on BBC TV on Sunday.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News the incident “clearly involves” a foreign actor.
“What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation. It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” he told the Hannity program.
As with Trump’s remarks, the comments from the US were not confirmed by any minister or police authority in the UK.
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David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
