Streeting says Fairford farmer who raised the alarm has 'only a partial picture'

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has publicly thanked the farmer who raised the alarm over the suspected terror plot at RAF Fairford, while insisting she has “only a partial picture” of the security operation around the arrests.

Speaking to Sky News on Monday morning from the Labour conference, Mr Streeting said: “Thank you to that member of the public. She has done exactly what we would hope that someone in that extraordinary situation would do. I’m really grateful to her – I think she acted, by her own admission, quickly and thoughtfully, and she did the right thing. With respect, though, she does only have a partial picture.”

The woman has claimed she saw more than five men at the scene early on Sunday morning. “The worst thing is that we saw more than five people and they keep saying they arrested five,” she said. She described three vans blocking the road outside the village of Whelford and said she could not get through to the base by phone, so she dialled 999; officers arrived about 15 minutes later.

Gloucestershire Police have confirmed that only five people were arrested, and Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth has indicated the force is not looking for anybody else.

Mr Streeting also told Times Radio he did not want to speculate on whether the incident was driven by a hostile foreign state, but promised: “as and when we can, we will report back to the public about these individuals and about the nature of the threat.”

Sources

• The Sun — “Farmer ‘saw more than 5 men run into fields’ before foiling ‘bomb plot’ as Streeting says she only has ‘partial picture’” (Streeting quotes from Sky News; farmer’s account; police confirmation of five arrests)
• BBC Radio 4 Today, via Newswav — farmer’s account of the 1:36am call and her criticism of the response
• Guardian live blog, via Scoop — Streeting’s remarks from the Labour conference