British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed that Iran was involved in the incident at RAF Fairford over the weekend, reversing days of official silence that followed the arrests of five British nationals near the Gloucestershire air base.
“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but, of course, it remains an ongoing complex and serious police investigation,” Burnham said Wednesday, speaking from a conference in Liverpool. “And, of course, we’re working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America. So it’s ongoing. I have held a Cobra meeting as I’ve been here at the conference in Liverpool. We are on top of it in every possible way imaginable. Police in Gloucestershire, our counterterrorism police, have done an outstanding job. I thank them for that. We will say more in due course, but we can confirm our belief, that we believe that Iran played a part.”
The admission comes after a chaotic few days in which the public was told little. According to initial reports, police were called to the area near the base after a local farm girl, returning home from a night out, reported seeing “a group of Middle Eastern-looking young guys running off through the trees.” It later emerged that about an hour before that call, one of the men eventually arrested had also phoned police, though what he told them has not been disclosed.
Five men, described only as British nationals from London, were arrested Sunday on charges of preparing a terrorist act. They have since been released on bond.
On Monday, Burnham convened an emergency cabinet meeting over the incident and told the public “not to speculate while the authorities establish the full facts.” That instruction stood in sharp contrast to comments coming out of Washington. President Donald Trump told reporters, “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them,” while Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News host Sean Hannity that the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor,” a clear signal toward Iran days before Burnham’s own government would say so publicly.
Burnham’s Wednesday statement is the first time his government has put a name to what it believes happened at Fairford, though he was careful to stress that the police investigation is ongoing and that further details would come “in due course.”
