Trump, Rubio question bail decision for Fairford base suspects

The US government has raised questions over the UK’s move to grant the five suspects bail.

The objection came from the US Secretary Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump who described the security alert over the weekend at the RAF Fairford base in southern England as a “very serious situation.” Rubio also raised the possibility of involving a “foreign actor” in this security incident.

The alert stemmed from the major incident at the base in western England following a security alert prompted by a public report of suspicious vehicles.

On Sunday morning, armed police arrested five men in the village of Whelford near the airbase. The suspects were initially held on suspicion of offenses under the Explosives Act and later arrested on suspicion of the preparation of a terrorist act.

On Monday morning, the police released the suspects on bail under strict conditions but the investigation is still ongoing to find the involvement of a foreign state through these individuals.

Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News, “It's one that clearly involves the hand of a foreign actor. I won't get into great detail about that yet," he said, without mentioning Iran.

Rubio also shared President Donald Trump’s concern in saying that "a lot of people are disturbed by the news that some of these people have been released on bail."

Trump had mentioned the issue in comments to reporters in the White House earlier on Monday.

Speaking to the reporters on Monday, the President voiced concerns, "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.”

RAF Fairford is a key British military base that hosts the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and has long been used by US bombers during conflict with Iran.