A man has been arrested in London who is believed to be linked to the alleged plot to attack the RAF base at Fairford

British counter-terrorism police have arrested a 27-year-old man in London, who holds dual British and Iranian nationality, on suspicion of planning terrorist acts. The arrest is linked to the investigation into the incident that took place last Sunday near the RAF Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, which was used by the United States during the war against Iran. The man was detained in the afternoon in Westminster under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act. The police also searched two properties in the area. A second man, a 26-year-old British national, was questioned as a suspect but was not arrested.

The investigation began during the night between Saturday and Sunday, when the police received a report of three suspicious vehicles heading towards Fairford. Armed officers stopped the cars in the Whelford area and arrested five British men, all aged between twenty and thirty. The five were subsequently released on bail on Monday. The police had found petrol but no explosive devices. However, the new arrest appears to lend greater credence to the theory that the incident may have been linked to the regime in Tehran.

The head of British counter-terrorism police, Laurence Taylor, had already emphasised that investigators were also examining the possibility that ‘proxies’ – or individuals who, knowingly or unknowingly, were acting on behalf of a foreign state – were involved in the operation. But yesterday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, speaking to journalists at the close of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, was far clearer, referring to "strong indications" of an Iranian role in the Fairford case.