What the hell happened at RAF Fairford?
The David Vance BriefingRead More
OK, so what EXACTLY happened this weekend at RAF Fairford?
The affair has taken a really bewildering series of twists and turns: an apparent terrorist threat, five arrests, then release on bail, confirmation that no explosive devices were found, and the bizarre report that one of the suspects himself called 999.
Now UK Mayor Andy Burnham says there are “strong indications” of Iranian involvement.
However the central question remains unanswered:
what exactly was happening outside the base?
It all began early on Sunday near the Gloucestershire airfield used by American bombers operating against Iran. A local farmer returning from a Party reported suspicious vans and hooded, masked men. This triggered an Armed police response and five “British National” men from London were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and preparing terrorism. Nearby residents were evacuated from their homes. The scale of the response suggested to me and many others that something extremely serious was happening.
The American account of this quickly became more emphatic. President Trump said the men wanted to cause “big damage” and he plainly suggested British and American authorities had already been investigating them. Listen to this;
This plainly suggested an established plot intercepted through intelligence work. But Reuters subsequently reported a source saying the immediate police response was not intelligence-led, although security around Fairford had already been strengthened. Those accounts have yet to be squared. Was Trump lying? Was Reuters?
Then came the Monday surprise: all five suspects were released on bail! I thought this was very peculiar and it felt “off”
President Trump said that he would not have done that. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went much further, asserting that a foreign actor was clearly involved, without publicly supplying supporting evidence. Spoiler alert – he MEANS Iran!
Washington’s message was unmistakable: this was a grave security incident, and releasing the suspects looked dodgy.
Our British police provided a much more qualified explanation. The men remained under investigation and subject to bail conditions. Bail was an investigative decision, made with public safety in mind. What does that even mean???? Crucially, detailed examinations found no improvised explosive devices in the vans, although petrol was recovered. So we are none the wiser as to what was going on!
Next came perhaps the strangest twist: reports that one of the suspects had called 999 before being arrested. In fact, this call came in an hour BEFORE the passing farmer noticed the man and made her 999 call!!! Police have not publicly explained that reported call. Its purpose remains unknown. I find that remarkable.
Now Mayor Burnham has brought the British political account closer to Washington’s. Yesterday he said there were strong indications that Iran played a part, while stressing that the investigation remained complex and ongoing. Iran denies any involvement and the evidence underpinning Burnham’s assessment has not been published.
So we are being treated like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed BS.
Have we Iranian terrorists running around the UK or not?
Was this a dry run that went wrong?
Was this something else?
As Burnham moves closer to the US understanding, this raises more questions and we deserve more answers!
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