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US bombers withdrawn from RAF Fairford: Downing Street insists base is safe
Downing Street has declared RAF Fairford secure in the first British response since US bombers withdrawn from RAF Fairford - a dozen B-1s - flew back to the United States amid worries over a possible Iranian threat, while Washington played down any split with London over the base.
By Haut Monde Post
• October 5, 2026
• 3 Min Read
Downing Street: the base is safe
Downing Street declared RAF Fairford secure one day after the US air force abruptly pulled a dozen B-1 bombers out of the Gloucestershire base, and the remarks were the first from any British authority since the American withdrawal. Asked at a scheduled briefing whether the military site was safe, the prime minister's official spokesperson answered “yes”.
Citing comments made the previous week by defence secretary Wes Streeting, the spokesperson said there were “tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world”, underlining the airbase's protection.
Washington plays down any split with London
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Monday that military deployments were normal, maintained that Washington was confident in the security of all its bases, and sought to downplay any discrepancy with the UK. On working with Britain, he said:
“with the Brits, we've worked very closely a long time, including on this investigation, and they couldn't be more cooperative”
The pullout behind the responses
Aircraft trackers reported that the entire squadron of 12 B-1 bombers at Fairford had flown back to the United States on Sunday, a movement the Pentagon confirmed that same evening. US officials told the New York Times that commanders had received fresh warnings of an Iran-backed plot against the site. Some bombers left so quickly that refuelling aircraft had to be scrambled to support their flights to the US.
The base had been on high alert for several weeks over heightened American concern that Tehran might try to instigate an attack, had been used earlier this year for US air force bombing runs against Iran, and was named a legitimate military target by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in July.
The open questions in Britain
The Ministry of Defence and Gloucestershire police would not say whether residents near the base face any extra danger, and other UK officials said they had not been briefed on American thinking. The British investigation, led by counter-terror police, has seen limited progress so far, and nothing on the British side has yet matched the level of the American warnings.
- •Late in September, five men from London driving white vans towards Whelford, a village beside the base, were picked up in the small hours on suspicion of carrying explosives.
- •The searches found no explosive devices, though a barrel of petrol was recovered.
- •All five were freed on police bail the following day.
- •A sixth man, a dual UK-Iranian national, was arrested in Westminster, London, on Thursday on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism and released on police bail on the Saturday.
- •Last week, prime minister Andy Burnham was more restrained, saying there were “strong indications that Iran played a part” in the incident.
Counter-terror police said inquiries into the circumstances of the events in Gloucestershire were still under way.
