Seventh man arrested by counter-terrorism police in RAF Fairford investigation

A seventh man has been arrested by police investigating a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford.The 22-year-old British national was held on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts in Westminster, central London, on Tuesday, Counter-Terrorism Policing said.Six suspects have already been arrested and released on bail after three suspicious vans were stopped near the airbase in Gloucestershire on Sunday September 27.Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Vicki Evans, said: “This remains a live investigation and our specialist teams continue to pursue multiple lines of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding events near RAF Fairford.“Once again, I’d like to thank the public for their continued support and patience whilst we work through this highly complex investigation.“We’re acutely aware of the public interest in this investigation, and we are working around the clock, and at pace, to identify the motivation behind events in Gloucestershire. We remain committed to investigating all possible angles.”RAF Fairford was used by US bombers, which were removed over the weekend after the drama, although it remains unclear precisely why the US made the move.Donald Trump said there were “some threats” that led the US to withdraw its aircraft, while secretary of state Marco Rubio sought to play down the suggestion that it was linked to security concerns.Asked on Monday if the planes had been moved in response to a threat, the US president said: “Yeah, I think we can say that. They didn’t fly out by accident.“No, but there were some threats and rather than tempting the enemy, we’ll capture the enemy and beat the enemy.“But why should we keep them there? So we moved them around a little bit, not very far.”He added: “We actually know the people who made the threat.”US vice president JD Vance said the planes had been redeployed “out of an abundance of caution, trying to protect our guys”.Speaking as he left Washington to travel to Alaska, he told reporters: “I think that we’re going to be as careful as we possibly can be.”Read MoreHe added: “We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are, you know, they’re trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well, so we are being extremely cautious.”Mr Rubio said he “wouldn’t directly tie” the redeployment of the planes to the security alert close to the RAF base.Marco Rubio (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)APHe added: “It’s not unusual to see movement of assets to different parts of the world based on exercises, redeployments, people changing out and new people coming in, new planes coming in and old planes going out.”Five suspects, all British nationals in their 20s, were arrested after three vans were stopped near RAF Fairford on September 27.No explosive materials were found, but a quantity of petrol was seized, police said, and four days later a sixth man, a dual UK-Iranian national, was arrested.Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the incident which followed a series of arson attacks at Jewish sites in London, linked to an Iran-backed group.The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that the aircraft had been “redeployed to their home stations in the United States”, but stressed the US Air Force retained the ability to strike “anywhere, any time”.US officials told the New York Times the redeployment of the bombers had been ordered after more specific details about threats to the base emerged over the weekend.On Monday, Downing Street declined to comment on the withdrawal of the bombers but insisted RAF Fairford was safe.