Row Between London and Trump Over 'Furford Incident'

Senior British officials defended the decision of British police to release on bail five young men suspected of links to the incident at RAF Fairford, following criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump commented that evening, saying he was “surprised” by the British police’s decision to release the suspects. He added in press remarks, “I wouldn’t have done that,” noting that U.S. security agencies “know everything about them and we would not have released them.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the terrorist plot involved foreign involvement and clearly bore the fingerprints of an external party, describing the events near the Royal Air Force base as a serious situation. While thanking London, he emphasized his country’s dismay over the suspects’ release on bail. Rubio named Iran, pointing out that it had threatened to attack U.S. interests, but did not directly accuse it of last Saturday’s incident, which Tehran strongly denied any involvement in.

Under British law, in minor offenses, police may detain a person for only 24 hours without bringing formal charges. In major cases, such as murder and terrorism, they may seek judicial authorization to extend detention for up to 14 days to complete investigations and consult with prosecutors regarding whether to bring formal charges or release the detainee. This did not occur in the case of the RAF Fairford incident, which police currently consider “terrorist.”

Meanwhile, police have maintained a security cordon around the base two days after the discovery of three trucks believed to contain explosives that were allegedly intended for use in what has been described as a “terrorist plot” against the base.