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One of five men arrested near RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday morning had dialled 999 himself, the BBC understands.<\/b><\/p>\n
The suspect called the police at 00:45 BST, almost an hour before a female farmer also dialled 999 after seeing men in balaclavas.<\/p>\n
The five were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and later terrorism offences after three vans were spotted, sparking a major security incident around the Gloucestershire base which the US military operates.<\/p>\n
They were released on bail on Monday in what police described as an “investigative decision” “grounded in experience and strategy”.<\/p>\n
Police say a quantity of petrol but no explosive devices were found during searches of the vans.<\/p>\n
Police were alerted to “three suspicious vehicles” in Whelford, a village which lies directly east of the base, by the farmer.<\/p>\n
She told the BBC it was “pure luck” she had spotted them, having arrived home to find the road blocked and a “large group of hooded and masked men”.<\/p>\n
“I believe that my 999 call foiled whatever plans they had,” she said.<\/p>\n
A bomb disposal team arrived on scene shortly afterwards and a 400m (1,312ft) cordon was put in place.<\/p>\n
But Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, told reporters on Tuesday that the police response that morning had been due to “a range of information”.<\/p>\n
Police cordons near the base are expected to be completely lifted on Wednesday, while residents from the 85 homes evacuated on Sunday have been allowed to return to their properties.<\/p>\n
The five men are all UK nationals aged between 23 and 25. Four of them live in Westminster and one in Camden, and searches of their homes are now complete.<\/p>\n
Taylor previously said their bail was “subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others” as they remained under investigation. <\/p>\n
“The safety of the public is at the forefront of our investigative decision-making, and this was certainly the case yesterday,” he said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“I understand why this development was surprising to some, but I would like to reiterate that this is an investigative decision and one which is grounded in experience and strategy.”<\/p>\n
The RAF base has been used as a forward operating location by the US Air Force for decades.<\/p>\n
In recent months, US bombers have taken off from the base for the Middle East, after the UK approved a US request to use it for defensive strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday told journalists he was “disappointed” the five men had been released on bail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n