Subtle details on a van abandoned outside RAF Fairford appear to have given away an alleged terror cell after a suspected Iranian plot was foiled at the last minute.
One of three vans stopped next to the air base home to a US bomber fleet in Gloucestershire yesterday looked suspicious, the farmer who confronted the occupants said.
The woman, who helped alert authorities after encountering the vehicles on a road beside her farm, said she noticed ‘immediately’ that the phone number and lettering on one of the vans appeared to be fake.
Some observers suggested the ‘Fuel 2You’ branding could have been a grim joke about the contents of the vans, which were allegedly packed with explosives.
It has since been noted that the phone number displayed beneath the company name – 0742 418 2599 – was spaced in a format predominantly used in Iran.
Social media users shared photographs of the van alongside details of a legitimate company, Beaconsfield-based Fuel2U, which uses green and black branding rather than the red lettering seen on the vehicle allegedly linked to the plot.
Five men travelling in the vans were stopped around 350 yards from the base, which has been used by American forces to launch air strikes against Iran-backed targets in the region.
The farmer, who has asked not to be named, said she was ‘absolutely astonished’ to have found herself confronting the suspected bombers and claimed that police and the security services had ‘dropped the ball’.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting today praised her quick thinking and public spirit, but said she had only a ‘partial picture’ of events and declined to reveal further details.
MI5 and counter-terrorism police are scrambling to establish who was behind the suspected bomb plot after arresting five men believed to have been on the verge of carrying out a ‘very big attack’, sources said.
Elite SAS troops were also reportedly deployed to the site from Hereford, sources added.
One of the three vans near RAF Fairford had ‘Fuel 2You’ printed on its exterior in red text
The van also had a phone number spaced in 434 format, which is predominantly used in Iran
A van belonging to the real company ‘Fuel 2U’ – in no way linked to the RAF Fairford incident – with different colour font
The three white vans are investigated by a robot after the ‘foiled terror plot’ on RAF Fairford
A major incident was declared and images circulated online that showed one of the vans with ‘Fuel 2You’ printed on its exterior in red text with a phone number.
The UK uses a 533 or 56 format for mobile numbers, which would make the number read 07424 182599 or 07424 182 599. In any event, the number is out of service.
Some observers also spotted that the phone number underneath the fake name – 0742 418 2599 – was spaced in 434 format, which is predominantly used in Iran.
It came as Britain’s security services are on high alert today amid fears of further Iranian terror attacks on UK soil after a farmer helped foil a plot to blow up US bombers at RAF Fairford.
However, suggestions that UK authorities had advance notice of the plot were dismissed, with Whitehall sources insisting the arrests were not pre-planned despite comments by President Trump and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting that appeared to suggest otherwise.
Sources said the heightened security at the Gloucestershire airbase was more likely linked to the ongoing threat facing US military installations.
When the Daily Mail called it this morning, a recorded message said: ‘The number you have dialled is not in service. Please check the number and try your call again.’
Others pointed out how it was odd to use a red logo for a business supplying fuel, when the colour of petrol pumps in the UK is green. In Iran, the colour is red.
Fuel2U issued a statement firmly rejecting any connection with the Fairford incident, saying it was ‘extremely concerned’ that its name was pasted on one of the vans.
The fuel delivery company also asked people not to threaten its staff, warning that threatening messages will be reported to police.
A Fuel2U spokesman said: ‘We want to make it absolutely clear that neither the vehicle nor any of the individuals involved has any connection whatsoever with Fuel2U, its directors, employees or current business operations.
‘We are extremely concerned that our company’s name have been used without our knowledge or permission. We are co-operating fully with the relevant authorities and will assist them with any enquiries.’
It added: ‘Fuel2U strongly condemns any unlawful or dangerous activity. We thank the police, emergency services and specialist teams for their continuing work to protect the public and investigate this matter.
‘We understand that people may have questions, but we respectfully ask that members of the public do not contact or threaten our staff. Any threatening or abusive communications will be recorded and reported to the police.’
Five men are seen as police arrest them near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire yesterday
Armed police officers stand guard on a road outside the perimeter of RAF Fairford this morning
It is understood that Fuel2U has two vans and they were both in London yesterday.
The farmer also said that she spotted the vehicles ‘blocking the road’ while she was driving home, before seeing a ‘large group of hooded and ‘balaclava’d’ men’.
‘They would have seen the bright headlights,’ she said. ‘They probably thought we were the police (and) panicked.’
She added: ‘It would appear that by doing so I just derailed whatever they were planning.’
The hero farmer who appears to have single-handedly foiled the major terror attack only has a ‘partial picture’ of the operation, Wes Streeting claimed today.
Driving home from a party in the early hours of yesterday morning, the local woman was shocked to find three large white vans blocking a road yards from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which was used by US bombers to strike Iran.
Worryingly, the farmer claimed she saw more ‘Middle Eastern-looking’ suspects fleeing the scene than the five men later arrested.
She has said she is ‘absolutely staggered’ to have been the ‘plucky amateur’ who was forced to alert police, revealing that nobody answered a Ministry of Defence hotline when she called.
‘Thank God we spotted them. I’m just really keen to highlight that it appears someone really dropped the ball on this,’ she said, as counter-terrorism police probe if Iran is behind the plot.
Mr Streeting today praised her quick thinking and public spirit, but insisted that she had only a ‘partial picture’ of events, declining to reveal further details.
He said: ‘She has done exactly what we would hope that someone in that extraordinary situation would do, and I’m really grateful to her.
‘I think she acted, by her own admission, quickly and thoughtfully, and she did the right thing. With respect, though, she does only have a partial picture, and that’s as far as I wish to go this morning.’
Wes Streeting (pictured today) claimed the hero farmer who foiled an attack on RAF base used by US bombers ‘only has a partial picture’ of the security operation
Five men were pictured as police arrested them on terror charges near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The hero farmer said she thought there were more at the scene
An armed officer looks through his rifle scope at RAF Fairford today
He was asked about why a MoD 24/7 hotline for locals to report security concerns at Fairford was not answered when the farmer called yesterday. Mr Streeting said he could not comment due to the ‘live investigation’ into the incident.
But he again thanked police and the security services for their response, adding that the UK must not be ‘cowed by sabre-rattling from Iran’ or allow the country to ‘dictate our foreign policy’ while stressing it was ‘too early to attribute background aims’.
Donald Trump appeared to nod when asked by reporters last night whether the suspects were migrants. However, he did not answer directly, saying only: ‘We know all about them.’
The farmer’s arrival after a night out with friends reportedly sent the group of men in balaclavas scattering into nearby woodland and across fields surrounding the base, which was recently used by US aircraft involved in strikes on Iran.
She said she was astonished to have been the person who raised the alarm, despite President Trump’s claim that the group were known to authorities and under surveillance.
One resident said of the local farmer: ‘She is a hero. She has almost certainly prevented a terror attack.’
The ‘masked’ men were later filmed shirtless amid reports they may have been on a suicide mission armed with explosive vests, allegedly targeting a fleet of US B-1 Lancer bombers based at Fairford.
The farmer, who has not been named, was forced to stop when she found three white vans blocking the road.
As the men fled in different directions, she called 999 before sending a message to the local WhatsApp group in the village of Whelford.
Within 25 minutes, the five suspects had been rounded up and arrested by armed counter-terrorism officers, who are now investigating whether the alleged plot was linked to Iran.
‘They probably thought we were the police and panicked,’ the farmer said last night.
‘A plucky amateur shouldn’t be spotting unusual activity at 1am when the air base is on high alert. I think it’s absolutely astonishing.
‘Thinking about it now, and what could have happened if they had tried to stop me from driving away, I am quite lucky.’
She added: ‘It is pretty incredible, realising you had a face-to-face brush with potential terrorists and may have foiled a terrorist plot. It was clear they had only just arrived. Thank God we spotted them.’
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday morning she said: ‘I was coming home late from a party. On reaching our farm, I found both the driveway and the road blocked by three white vans.
‘We were aware that RAF Fairford was operating at a high security level and that civilian staff had been evacuated.
‘We had noticed some activity from what I assumed were plain-clothed police officers for the previous few days, so initially I thought perhaps this was more of the same.
‘I had no choice but to turn my vehicle around and return back the way I came.
‘On driving a short distance from the vans, I saw a large group of hooded and masked men.
‘When they saw me, they ran ahead of me, some into the field and some towards the neighbouring village of Kempsford.
‘I then realised that something highly unusual was taking place. In light of my awareness of a security threat to the base, I immediately called the MoD (Ministry of Defence) police, the phone rang out and they didn’t answer.
‘At 1.36am I called 999 to report what I had seen. Within 10 minutes, the village was full of armed police.
‘I think it was pure luck that I arrived in the village at a similar time to the vans.
‘I am absolutely staggered that it was left to me, as a member of the public, to see and report this.
‘The airbase were operating a roadblock close to the entrance to the base, but not on any of the other roads.
‘But we assumed someone would be monitoring the roads around the base perimeter and taking regular patrols in the village.
‘Clearly, this was not happening, and I believe that my 999 call foiled whatever plans they had.
‘Even more surprising that, following my call at 1.36am, the police were aware of the presence of the three vans, but didn’t evacuate the village until 6am.
‘No one from the police has been in touch to ask me anything about it.
‘I think they were hyper-focused and vigilant about the base itself, and had absolutely no regard for our village.
‘The vans were within metres of houses, and those people were left unaware, apart from the fact that I sent a message to our village WhatsApp group, hoping that some people would be awake and could make sure their doors were locked.
‘It all happened fairly quickly. My impression was that they were fit and young, they were all wearing similar dark clothes.
‘I’m just really keen to highlight that it appears someone really dropped the ball on this.
‘Also, I am finding it strange that at the press conference, the police are saying they responded to a call at 12.45 about three suspicious vans travelling towards the base.
‘If this is the case, why did they not know they were in Whelford when I called almost an hour later?’
Last night as he landed back in Washington from Illinois, President Trump hailed US-UK co-operation to foil the attack – and insisted that the group were known to police and were ‘looking to do big damage’ to US forces.
When asked if the US knew about the attack, he said: ‘We know all about them. You’ll be hearing about it very soon. We caught them.’
Earlier in the day he said: ‘It was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great.
‘It may have been Scotland Yard, I don’t know. We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them. Thank you.’
The five arrested men are in custody and can be questioned for a fortnight under UK anti-terror laws.
RAF Fairford was used by the United States Air Force for operations against Iran. The base, which is already on high alert and had ramped up security in recent weeks, is less than a mile from the centre of the village.
Donald Trump appeared to nod to reporters when asked if the men arrested were migrants to the UK last night – but did not answer the question
The group were shirtless and handcuffed, suggesting police suspected they may be wearing suicide vests
The farmer said she thought the vans were suspicious because a phone number and lettering on the back of the vehicles appeared to be fake
Minutes after the farmer’s call, armed police descended on the quiet Cotswolds village of Whelford – home to just 100 – and arrested five men. Dramatic video and pictures from the scene show the young, shirtless men sitting on the ground – arms handcuffed behind them.
The woman, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said she believed her headlights had startled the men, prompting them to try to flee.
She told the Sun: ‘The worst thing is that we saw more than five people and they kept saying they arrested five. They had the helicopters searching.’
It comes as Temporary Chief Constable for Gloucestershire Police, Maggie Blyth, has indicated the force is not looking for anybody else in connection with the incident.
The farmer revealed she had been driving along a quiet lane through the village while her husband was sleeping beside her as she prepared to drop a friend home.
She said the vans struck her as being suspicious because a phone number and lettering on the back of the vehicles appeared to be fake.
She added: ‘I just thought what the hell are they doing… I saw a group of Middle Eastern–looking young guys running off through the trees. Some of them had masks or balaclavas on, and they all scattered ahead of us as we drove back past.
‘Some of them ran into the fields, and some of them turned to run towards the air base. We realised this was something pretty serious.
US Air Force bomberson the tarmac at RAF Fairford base in Fairford today
Three white vans have been probed by a wheeled robot attached to the bomb squad after five men were arrested following a ‘foiled terror plot’ on RAF Fairford
‘We knew the air base had a credible threat of a terrorist attack before last night. So as soon as I saw them I was worried.
‘I mean, you don’t see masked men running around at half-one in the morning in the countryside near a secure air base and not have concerns.
‘It’s bloody preposterous that they weren’t on it and I had to phone up. I’d like to think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.’
The woman said she hoped the police ‘sort themselves out and this doesn’t happen to us again’ – insisting there would be some ‘red faces in the highest levels of command at Fairford anyway’.
One of the white vans was labelled ‘FUEL 2YOU’ in red lettering, with a phone number that was one digit short.
A company with the same name said it had two vans and they were both in London yesterday. After the men were detained a 400m cordon was thrown up around the vehicles – which appeared to have been laden with barrels – while police went door to door, evacuating the 85 homes in the village.
Residents told how they were initially woken by a helicopter at 1am and then again by bangs on the door before being taken away in their pyjamas and dressing gowns to a leisure centre.
Jo, who did not want to give her surname, has lived in Whelford for 18 years. She said she was evacuated from her home at around 7am, adding: ‘We were asleep and they were just banging on our door. They said it was a critical incident and we’ve got to leave straight away, and they basically wouldn’t leave the doorstep until we left.
‘We just had to throw our clothes on and come. We didn’t know anything. (The police) literally waited (at the door). I didn’t even brush my teeth.’
Another Whelford resident said they were woken by a helicopter at 2am. They were then woken again at 6.30am by police officers banging on their bedroom window telling them they needed to evacuate. The local said: ‘We’d gone to bed as normal around 10pm and heard the helicopter above the house at 2ish.
Heavily-armed personnel are seen at the main entrance to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire
‘You get used to aircraft living so close to the base, but not at that time in the early hours. So we knew something was happening.
‘We sleep downstairs and heard a banging on the window at 6.30am. We must have slept through the doorbell.
‘It was the police, they were armed and in masks. They very calmly said there was a ‘serious incident’ and that we needed to leave for our own safety.
‘We grabbed some things and headed to the leisure centre. We haven’t been told when we can go back. It’s been a very scary day.’
Those evacuated were taken to Cirencester Leisure Centre – ten miles away – where areas are also being set up for people’s cats and dogs.
Two uniformed officers had earlier gone to collect one worried resident’s dog. They dropped off the small black terrier to her in the foyer of the centre.
Julian Tudsbery, who has lived in Whelford for 30 years, said: ‘Evidently, they phoned the airbase police, who didn’t answer the phone. It just rang out so she dialled 999.’
He said he was evacuated at 7am, adding: ‘[The police] were then banging on the door, so I went downstairs in my dressing gown.’
In a speech at Labour’s conference in Liverpool on Monday, Mr Streeting paid tribute to Britain’s security relationship with the US in the wake of the RAF Fairford plot.
He said Anglo-American ties were ‘the closest alliance of any two nations on Earth, and we will always stand together against those who hate our freedom and those who wish us harm’.
He also repeated his thanks to Britain’s security services for their actions on Sunday in foiling the suspected bomb plot.
‘What we saw yesterday from our security services, our armed forces, and our police, was just a small glimpse of the extraordinary work they do every day, around the clock and around the world, behind the scenes and without recognition, to keep our country safe,’ he added.
Mr Streeting went on to warn, amid the menace of Iran and Russia, that ‘at no point in my lifetime has the threat of war loomed as large as it does today’.
‘Our adversaries are more dangerous, across more domains, and they are on our doorstep,’ he told Labour members. ‘To prevent the worst, we must prepare for it. We must meet this moment with action and with strength.’
The Defence Secretary issued a demand for Labour’s Left-wing to get behind a ramping up of defence spending.
‘I also have to say directly to some of our critics on the Left.’ Mr Streeting said. ‘You are not defending our public services by attacking investment in our national defences.’
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has committed to spending 3.5 per cent of the UK’s GDP (gross domestic product) on defence by 2035 in line with a pledge by NATO members.
But the Government has so far only budgeted to hike defence spending to 2.7 per cent of GDP by 2027/28, and there are no firm details on how further increases will be achieved beyond that date.
This is despite Chancellor John Healey having quit as defence secretary in Keir Starmer’s administration while arguing it was necessary to reach 3 per cent by 2030.
