WTF went on at RAF Fairford?

Jon Sopel (0:02)

This is a Global Production.

Laurence Taylor (0:05)

There is indeed a strong indication that Iran played a part.

This remains, though, a complex and very serious police investigation, so I can't say any more at this stage. People will know, though, it's consumed quite a considerable amount of my time here in Liverpool this week. I did chair COBRA on Monday. We have been waiting to confirm what we could say, but we can now confirm our belief that Iran played a part.

Lewis Goodall (0:36)

There have been many big stories this week, but perhaps the most mysterious has been the events at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, where as part of a terror investigation, five men have been arrested and Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, has confirmed that it is the British government's belief that Iran is involved.

Jon Sopel (0:56)

So the five men allegedly who were involved are now released on bail, and that has bewildered everyone. So what is the explanation? We'll be sitting down for the first interview with the head of Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK. Welcome to The News Agents.

It's Jon.

Lewis Goodall (1:22)

It's Lewis. And as we were saying at the top there, the events at RAF Fairford. We've been talking all week about whether we should do this story, because obviously it's been sort of rumbling along as the Labour Party conference has been happening. And it's clearly a really big story, but it's kind of been difficult to bring it to you, because so few of the details have been known. It's been one of those sorts of stories when you really do have to wait for the government and the police to reveal what they know about those events. And even at this point now, relatively speaking, we don't know that much, save for what the Prime Minister was saying. This is what we do know.

On Sunday, just as the Labour Party conference was getting underway, police intercepted three suspicious vans near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Now, you might have heard of Fairford, particularly over the last few months and the start of the year. It's been one of those things that's been in the news a lot because US forces have used Fairford as one of those bases for strikes against Iran.

Five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and preparing terrorism. Now on Monday, all five, and this is quite mysterious, all five were released on strict bail conditions but remain under investigation. Police subsequently confirmed they found petrol but no explosives in the vans. Yesterday, Andy Burnham said that there were strong indications that Iran had played a part in this attack. Investigators are examining possible foreign state involvement. Iran, for their part, denies responsibility. The suspect's intentions and the precise nature of any plot, apart from those details, remains unknown and unproven, at least in the public domain.

Jon Sopel (3:02)

It is the most bewildering, puzzling case that I think we've ever seen. And as you say, Lewis, you know, it's one of those things where you go on air and talk about it and you say, well, there are lots of questions, but we've got very few answers to give you, which isn't ideal, is it? Which is suboptimal. And what was also clear very quickly was that other countries, notably America and notably Israel, were saying, yeah, we, I mean, look, we warned you, we've been working on this together. We knew about a lot of this. Listen to what Donald Trump has had to say about it.

Laurence Taylor (3:39)

Mr. President, what more can you tell us about the incidents at Fairford in the UK?

Laurence Taylor (3:43)

Well, I'm just disappointed that they caught terrorists. They did a good job and then they sort of let them go.

Laurence Taylor (3:48)

I don't know. How do you let it, how do you give bail to a terrorist?

So I don't know.

Laurence Taylor (3:54)

Was this a long standing investigation?

Jon Sopel (3:55)

A long standing, yeah, we were involved in it. But in, as you know, your fellow countrymen, they let them go. How do you give bail to terrorists? Well, obviously, we don't worry about the niceties of alleged and whatever else. When you're in American soil, and you don't have a Contemptive Court Act to worry about. But it is a question I think so many people have answered, and no one has quite satisfactorily explained how it could be that something that was so serious, that necessitated a major incident being called.

Andy Burnham, as he said there in that clip in the introduction, chairing a COBRA meeting on Monday. And that chairing of the COBRA meeting almost came simultaneously with the announcement that the five suspects had been released. Indeed.