A police expert says the release of five men may suggest there is as yet no evidence of terrorism (Image: Getty)
A police expert has explained why five men arrested in a major incident at RAF Fairford may have been released on bail. Counter-Terrorism Police said on Monday that the suspects would all be freed on police bail.
Graham Wettone told Sky the release on bail was “very quick” for a terrorism related offence and it seemed to him to suggest there was no clear evidence of terror, but the men remain on bail with “stringent” conditions. He said: “It remains on ongoing investigation so they clearly have more investigations to make… Maybe they (the suspects) were asked to go there for something else – just to test the security response.”
The former Met Police officer, who served in policing for over 30 years, said the release to him would indicate no explosives were found inside three vans which formed part of the investigation.
Mr Wettone, responding to reports that large barrels were seen near the vans on Sunday, said that to him would suggest possible explosives so he would have made an on the spot arrest.
He said police enquiries will continue as detectives try to find out why they were in the area as well as what their motives and intentions were.
Asked if it was odd for the Government to hold a COBRA meeting given the releases, Mr Wettone said it was still important to assess security levels around military bases and decide if the national threat level currently set at “severe” should still apply.
The former officer urged the public to remain vigilant and to contact the police if they see anything suspicious.
Graham Wettone says the release on bail was ‘very quick’ for a terror-related incident (Image: Getty)
His comments came after the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said on Monday: “Following extensive interviews and inquiries, the five men who were arrested are being released on police bail this afternoon.
“To be very clear, this does not mean that the investigation is over. They are subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others. They absolutely remain under investigation as we explore multiple lines of inquiry.”
Acknowledging speculation over whether Iran was behind the plot, he said police are keeping an open mind, and one possibility could be proxies “either knowingly or unknowingly working on behalf of a foreign state”.
Iran, and other hostile states including Russia, has been known to use criminal proxies to carry out crimes on its behalf on UK soil.
Its London embassy earlier said it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” of Iranian involvement.
The five suspects are a 24-year-old man from Camden, north London; three men aged 23, 24 and 25 from Westminster, central London, and one man aged 24 from Willesden, north-west London.
Gloucestershire Constabulary was initially alerted to three suspicious vans travelling towards RAF Fairford at 12.45am on Sunday, and it is unclear what action was taken in the hour that followed.
A local farmer who spotted the vans and a group of masked men initially called the Ministry of Defence Police, but there was no answer, so called 999 at 1.36am, and armed police arrived about 10 minutes later.
It is understood the material found was not viable explosives, but police have stressed the investigation is continuing.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that the suspects were looking to “do big damage”. On Monday, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK must not be “cowed by sabre-rattling from Iran” or allow the country to “dictate our foreign policy”, adding it was “too early to attribute background aims”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told LBC he was holding a COBRA meeting on Monday to make sure he has the full picture.
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