Iran’s Revolutionary Guards “almost certainly directed” a suspected operation aimed at a UK airbase used by the US military in its war against Iran, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said.
US bombers had been operating from RAF Fairford but were withdrawn after the suspected terror plot came to light.
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Seven people have been arrested and released on bail following the incident, after three suspicious vans were stopped close to the airbase on 27 September.
Police found no explosive materials in the vehicles, although they seized a quantity of petrol.
The prime minister said Britain “will not tolerate these threats on our soil”.
“We will crack down on Iran’s use of criminal networks, using our full range of powers to target them and their funding streams, and we will bring further sanctions to restrict the capacity of Iran and the IRGC to do us harm,” he said.
In a joint statement, Ireland joined the US, UK, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden in condemning Iran.
The countries said the RAF Fairford incident showed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) “continued willingness to project hostile activity beyond its borders through covert networks and proxy actors”.
“This comes soon after the recent campaign of attacks across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists and US interests, claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI),” the statement added.
The nations said that “any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our territories through proxies or any other means is unacceptable”.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband summoned Iran’s ambassador.
Iran rejected any suggestion that it was involved in the incident.
“The Iranian ambassador in London, Ali Moussavi, has again categorically rejected the accusations concerning Tehran’s role in the incident at the Fairford military base,” state news agency IRNA reported, adding that he “called on the British government to present evidence supporting its allegations if it possesses any”.
Burnham to push for closer ties with EU
Andy Burnham said it would be a ‘dereliction of duty’ not to seek deeper partnership with the EU
Andy Burnham will use a key UK-EU summit next month to argue for closer relations with the bloc, saying that “the status quo is not good enough” for Britain.
The two sides are expected to pursue a new post-Brexit agreement on food and drink, a youth mobility scheme and an emissions-trading deal designed to shield British businesses from European carbon taxes.
Addressing the House of Commons, the prime minister said failing to seek a deeper partnership with the EU would amount to a “dereliction of duty”.
However, he said the British public would be the “boss” throughout the renegotiation, arguing that “public opinion currently supports a pragmatic approach like the one I am suggesting”.
He said: “If we are serious about promoting growth, controlling immigration, upholding our values and security, it is a conversation we must have.
“Sticking with the status quo is not good enough for Britain.
“Worse, it would be a major dereliction of duty to turn away.
“We need to take a calm, clear-eyed, rational look at the world as it is today to consider what is best for our country.”
The prime minister said the “immediate priority is securing a successful outcome at the summit”.
“I believe we should then set up a serious dialogue about the different options for our relationship in the long-term,” he said.
Mr Burnham said the summit “presents an opportunity to make progress on two crucial issues: boosting UK growth and controlling illegal immigration”.
In a statement, European Council President António Costa said the EU and Britain “are like-minded partners, united by common values and shared interests”.
“Our security and prosperity are closely intertwined, making a strong partnership between us essential,” he said.
Mr Costa added: “By deepening our cooperation, we can strengthen our ability to address the challenges of our time, strengthen our resilience and promote stability in Europe and beyond.”
The summit is due to take place in Brussels on 20 November after it was postponed because of Keir Starmer’s resignation.
According to the statement, Mr Burnham will be received by Mr Costa, who represents the 27 EU leaders, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The leaders are expected to review progress in the bilateral relationship since the first 2025 EU-UK summit in London, including defence and security cooperation, energy, agrifood rules, climate, people-to-people links, migration and law enforcement.
The statement added: “The EU and UK are like-minded partners which share common values, support multilateralism and a rules-based international order and engage in promoting stability and prosperity in Europe and around the world.
“The leaders are therefore also expected to discuss global and regional issues of mutual concern.”
PM denies he questioned legitimacy of Brexit result
Kemi Badenoch questioned Mr Burnham’s remarks regarding the 2016 EU referendum result
Mr Burnham also rejected claims that he had challenged the legitimacy of the 2016 EU referendum, after telling The Rest Is Politics podcast that the UK had not “informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas”.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch told MPs: “Over the weekend, on The Rest Is Politics podcast, he implied that the referendum result was illegitimate because of Russian interference.
“Where has this come from? We all remember in 2018, the head of MI5 said that there was no evidence that Russia had influenced the EU referendum result.”
She added: “Will he confirm here and now whether he believes the referendum result was legitimate and, if not, will he publish the evidence that Russia swung the result of the 2016 referendum?”
Mr Burnham replied: “I implied no such thing in my comments on The Rest Is Politics podcast. I think she should go back and look again.”
He said “it is a matter of record that Russian actors sought to interfere” in a previous general election, adding: “We think it is inconceivable that this was the first time.”
Mr Burnham told the podcast: “I asked the question coming to Downing Street, well was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was.
“These things are important now to put clearly on the record and I believe help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia.”
Before his parliamentary address, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called Mr Burnham “a liar”, telling a press conference in Hythe: “There was no Russian interference and the Russia hoax has run all the way through this”.
Speaking to Times Radio, Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty declined to explain what form Russian interference had taken in 2016 or whether it had achieved its aims.
He said: “I’m not going to get into the specifics of Russia’s actions against the UK, but what is clear is that Russia is attempting to interfere in democratic processes, not just in the UK but across Europe.”
Mr Doughty said Russia was spending £1.5 billion (1.7 billion) on disinformation this year and urged a “whole of society effort” to counter the threat Moscow poses to British democracy.
Asked whether such interference might have altered the result of the 2016 referendum, he said: “The result is the result, and I think the prime minister has been very clear that he’s talking about attempts to interfere.
“The security minister has spoken about this before.
“I’m confident that both the British people and the British state are able to respond to and defend against these types of threats, but we need to be very honest that those threats exist.”
Mr Doughty later told LBC that he did not believe Russia’s efforts to interfere in the referendum had succeeded.
Additional reporting Tony Connelly, PA
