A US congressman has branded Britain an “unreliable” ally after five men arrested near RAF Fairford were released on police bail, exposing fresh tensions between Washington and London over the handling of a counter-terrorism investigation at a base used by US forces.
Randy Fine, a Republican representative for Florida’s 6th District and a first-term member of the House Freedom Caucus, attacked the decision in a post on X.
“They should just officially rename themselves the United Islamic Kingdom and get it over with,” Fine wrote.
“What is clear is they are no longer a reliable ally of the United States.”
The post, which cited an open-source account discussing the bail decision, attracted more than 1.6m views.
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UK Counter Terrorism Policing said the five suspects, all British nationals from London and aged in their 20s, were released on stringent bail conditions on Monday. They remain under investigation.
The men were arrested in the early hours of Sunday after three vans were spotted close to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. The base hosts the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and has been used by American aircraft in operations against Iran.
The suspects were initially detained over explosives offences before the investigation expanded to suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism.
Laurence Taylor, head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said detectives were pursuing multiple lines of inquiry, including whether the men could have been acting as “proxies or individuals, either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state”.
Possible links to Iran, Russia or non-state groups are being examined. No conclusion has been reached that a foreign government directed the alleged plot, while reports have indicated that no viable explosives were found.
The arrests triggered a major security operation in nearby Whelford, with 85 homes evacuated while Army specialists examined the vehicles. Residents returned late on Monday, although a cordon remained in place.
Iran’s London embassy has rejected any involvement.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the incident “clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor”, although he declined to identify a country. Prime Minister Andy Burnham chaired a COBRA meeting to assess the situation.
Fine’s intervention has added a political dimension to an investigation in which police have released no details about the suspects’ religion, ethnicity or ideology.
Bail does not mean the investigation has ended or that suspects have been cleared. In complex terrorism investigations, suspects can remain under stringent restrictions while detectives pursue further evidence.
Fine has previously attracted controversy over comments concerning Muslims and other political figures. In February, he faced calls from Democrats to resign and be censured after posting that the choice “between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one”, a remark he subsequently defended.
His latest intervention prompted sharply divided reactions online. Some users supported his portrayal of Britain as failing to confront extremist threats, while others pointed to the suspects’ British nationality and the absence of any publicly established religious or ideological motive.
A satirical Downing Street-linked account asked whether Fine was “born this stupid… or did it take training?” Other responses included unsupported false-flag allegations and extreme descriptions of Britain. The authenticity and motivations of individual accounts cannot be established from the online reaction alone.
The central question for investigators remains whether the suspects acted independently or were connected to a foreign state or wider network.
For now, police have brought no charges, confirmed no religious motive and publicly reported no viable explosives.
The case nevertheless underlines the heightened sensitivity surrounding US military assets on British soil as tensions with Iran remain elevated — and the political consequences that can follow when a complex investigation collides with a volatile transatlantic security debate.
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