UK Government Believes Iran Involved in RAF Fairford Incident

The government believes that Iran played a part in the RAF Fairford incident which resulted in five men being arrested and then bailed, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said.

"There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford," he told the BBC. He did not provide further details. Tehran has strongly denied any involvement.

Burnham's comments come after it emerged that one of the five men had dialled 999 himself before the group were arrested.

Asked why the suspects had been released on bail - a decision which has been openly 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".

Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump said: "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."

But Burnham said: "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."

Burnham's comments come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that the incident at RAF Fairford "clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor".

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Rubio said "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".

Burnham said that the government had been "talking to our counterparts in the United States all week to explain what is happening here, how things are being done", and that he had "complete confidence in the way British security services are handling this".

"We will say more in due course but we can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part," he told the BBC.

"Of course 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.