US President Donald Trump has expressed surprise over the decision by British police to release on bail five men arrested near an airbase used by American forces, remarking that "I wouldn't have done that."
Speaking in Washington after UK authorities confirmed the release, Trump alleged the suspects "were looking to do big damage to our fort", adding that the incident "might be" linked to Iran.
The five men—all London-based Britons in their mid-20s—were arrested early on Sunday on suspicion of explosives offences and the preparation of a terrorist act after police intercepted three suspicious white vans near the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford base in Gloucestershire, southwest England.
Counter-terror inquiry
The release prompted British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to convene an emergency meeting of senior officials to ensure ministers have "the full picture."
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, stressed that the bail release does not signal the end of the inquiry, confirming the men remain subject to "stringent" conditions.
Officers are "considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state," Taylor said.
Bomb-disposal teams and military forensic experts conducted extensive examinations of the three vehicles.
Tests on materials retrieved from the vans subsequently established they were "not viable explosives."
Britain granted the US permission in March to fly operations from Fairford to target Iranian missiles at source, making it the sole British mainland base utilised for such missions.
