‘Strong indications that Iran played a part in RAF Fairford incident,’ says PM Andy Burnham
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Strong indications that Iran played a part in RAF Fairford incident,’ says PM Andy Burnham")
UK counterterrorism police said no explosives were found in extensive searches of the three vehicles operated by the men Photograph: (AFP)
PM Andy Burnham’s comment saying his government believes Iran played a part in the RAF Fairford incident comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor.”
The UK government believes that Iran played a part in the RAF Fairford incident, which resulted in five men being arrested and then being released on bail, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday.
“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford,” Burnham told the BBC but did not provide further details. Tehran has strongly denied any involvement.
On being asked why the suspects had been released on bail, a decision questioned by President Donald Trump, the prime minister insisted the men were subject to the “strictest possible bail conditions” and added that UK authorities “have this under the strongest grip and closest control”.
“We will say more in due course, but we can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part,” he added.
‘Working closely with our colleagues in US’
“It remains an ongoing, complex and serious police investigation, and of course we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America,” Burnham added.
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Burnham’s comments come after it emerged that one of the five men had dialled 999 himself before they were arrested.
Trump said at the White House on Monday, “I will tell you, I would have said, ‘Don’t let them have bail’. I’m surprised that they released them. I wouldn’t have done that.”
Burnham clarified the situation, saying, “I think people need to understand that when it says released, that isn’t as people might think. It’s obviously with the strictest possible bail conditions.”
“The authorities have this under the strongest grip and closest control, and I can assure you of that.”
No explosives were found in searches of the three vehicles
Burnham’s comment saying his government believes Iran played a part in the RAF Fairford incident comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor”.
Rubio said in an interview with Fox News, “I think it ties us to the reality here, and that is we are dealing with elements in the world, and in the case of Iran, for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally.”
UK counterterrorism police said no explosives were found in extensive searches of the three vehicles operated by the men.
Iran has, like Russia, been accused of using individuals who may be unaware they are even working for a foreign state to conduct sabotage attacks across Western Europe.
The Iran-aligned group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia — or The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Righteous (IMCR) — has claimed responsibility for several incidents over the past few months, including attacks on synagogues in the Netherlands and Belgium, and multiple attacks on north London’s Jewish community.
