Overview
- Security patrols discovered an abandoned vehicle and a small hole in RAF Molesworth’s perimeter, and police found two Latvian residents inside the base before arresting them on Thursday.
- The men were initially held for trespass and criminal damage and were re-arrested under Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023 for entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.
- Explosive ordnance disposal teams checked the vehicle and reported nothing of concern, and counterterrorism detectives are carrying out searches at two Peterborough addresses while the suspects remain in custody.
- Authorities say there is currently no confirmed link between the Molesworth breach and the suspected plot near RAF Fairford that prompted the US to withdraw deployed bombers, but investigators are keeping an open mind.
- RAF Molesworth hosts key US and NATO intelligence units, and the incident has sharpened force-protection measures and scrutiny of base perimeter security as UK and US agencies share intelligence and coordinate responses.