Two Latvian men arrested after entering RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire

Two Latvian men were arrested inside RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire early on Thursday, 8 October, after police found a hole in the perimeter fence of the base used by US and NATO intelligence personnel. Counterterrorism officers are investigating why the men entered the site; police have not established their purpose or reported charges.

The men, aged 32 and 36 and resident in the UK, were arrested at about 2 a.m. They remained in police custody on Thursday, according to Deutsche Welle and the Guardian. Their arrest comes amid heightened concern about security at British military sites, but police say there is no indication at this stage that the Molesworth incident is connected to a separate investigation near RAF Fairford.

How police found the men at RAF Molesworth

The investigation began at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, 7 October, when an abandoned vehicle was found near the edge of Molesworth. Officers from the Ministry of Defence Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary investigated, discovered a small hole in the perimeter fence and found the men inside the base roughly four hours later.

Police initially arrested the men on suspicion of trespassing on a prohibited site and causing criminal damage. They were subsequently arrested on suspicion of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK, an offence under section 4 of the National Security Act 2023. These are grounds for arrest, not findings about what the men intended or did beyond entering the site.

The abandoned vehicle was taken to a nearby police location, the Guardian reported. Initial searches prompted officers to call explosives specialists for further checks; nothing concerning was understood to have been found. Police briefly cordoned off part of the A1 south of Peterborough and the area around Glatton as a precaution, then lifted the cordon.

Officers were also searching two addresses in the Peterborough area in connection with the case, counterterrorism police said, according to the Guardian. The reports did not establish why the men entered Molesworth, whether they had a specific objective or whether charges would follow.

Why RAF Molesworth matters

RAF Molesworth is a non-flying base managed by the US Air Force. It supports intelligence work rather than aircraft operations. The Guardian identifies NATO’s Intelligence Fusion Centre and the US Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Europe, as facilities there. Deutsche Welle also describes NATO and US Africa Command intelligence personnel at the site.

That role helps explain why a breach of the perimeter is receiving attention from counterterrorism officers. It does not establish that the men accessed intelligence facilities or that they were acting on behalf of anyone. The public account so far describes their presence inside the base and the damage found in its fence.

No established link to the RAF Fairford investigation

The arrests followed a separate security investigation near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Flanagan said there was ‘nothing to suggest’ the Molesworth incident was related to Fairford, while stressing that inquiries were continuing. The two cases should therefore be treated separately unless investigators establish a connection.

At Fairford, authorities investigated after three vans were found near the base in September. The Guardian reported that five men arrested initially, a sixth arrested later and a seventh arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts had all been released on bail without charge by Thursday. Those arrests provide context for official concern about bases, but do not explain the Molesworth breach.

The US withdrew B-1 bombers from Fairford on Sunday, 4 October. The Guardian reported concern about a possible Iran-directed drone attack, while saying British sources were sceptical that Iran could mount an attack of that sophistication. Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton described the withdrawal as an operational decision to reduce risk and said he had confidence in the safety and security of UK bases.

For Molesworth, the immediate questions remain what the two men were doing inside the perimeter and what the continuing searches reveal. Police have reported arrest suspicions and an active investigation, but no established motive, charge or connection to the Fairford case.