British counterterrorism police have arrested two Latvian men under the UK's National Security Act after they were found inside RAF Molesworth, a sensitive military base in Cambridgeshire that houses US and NATO intelligence operations.
The men, aged 32 and 36 and both residents of the United Kingdom, were discovered inside the base in the early hours of Thursday. The alarm was raised around 10 pm on Wednesday after Ministry of Defence Police officers found an abandoned vehicle during a patrol near the edge of the base. Bomb disposal specialists cleared the vehicle before a small breach was found in the perimeter fence and the men were located inside.
Investigated under national security law
The pair were initially detained on suspicion of trespass and criminal damage before being re-arrested on suspicion of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom. Counterterrorism detectives are investigating, and search warrants have been executed at two residential properties in nearby Peterborough.
RAF Molesworth, around 112 kilometres north of London, is operated by the US Air Force and hosts the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre as well as intelligence personnel supporting US European Command and US Africa Command. It is a non-flying installation dedicated to intelligence and command operations.
Police said there was nothing so far to suggest the incident was linked to a separate event last month at RAF Fairford, where seven men were arrested over a suspected plot. The British government has linked that suspected plot to Iran, which has denied any involvement. The arrests at Molesworth come amid heightened official warnings that the UK could be targeted by hybrid attacks carried out on behalf of foreign powers.
Sources: The Hindu, U.K. arrest two Latvians inside perimeter of RAF base housing U.S., NATO intelligence operations · Al Jazeera, Two Latvian men arrested inside UK military base after breach
The men, aged 32 and 36 and both residents of the United Kingdom, were discovered inside the base in the early hours of Thursday. The alarm was raised around 10 pm on Wednesday after Ministry of Defence Police officers found an abandoned vehicle during a patrol near the edge of the base. Bomb disposal specialists cleared the vehicle before a small breach was found in the perimeter fence and the men were located inside.
Investigated under national security law
The pair were initially detained on suspicion of trespass and criminal damage before being re-arrested on suspicion of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom. Counterterrorism detectives are investigating, and search warrants have been executed at two residential properties in nearby Peterborough.
RAF Molesworth, around 112 kilometres north of London, is operated by the US Air Force and hosts the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre as well as intelligence personnel supporting US European Command and US Africa Command. It is a non-flying installation dedicated to intelligence and command operations.
Police said there was nothing so far to suggest the incident was linked to a separate event last month at RAF Fairford, where seven men were arrested over a suspected plot. The British government has linked that suspected plot to Iran, which has denied any involvement. The arrests at Molesworth come amid heightened official warnings that the UK could be targeted by hybrid attacks carried out on behalf of foreign powers.
Sources: The Hindu, U.K. arrest two Latvians inside perimeter of RAF base housing U.S., NATO intelligence operations · Al Jazeera, Two Latvian men arrested inside UK military base after breach
