Explosives alert near a US-used base in the UK. Trump: those arrested were under investigation

“The five men remain in custody,” said the deputy head of Scotland Yard, Vicki Evans, who is also the national counter-terrorism commander for the UK, adding that the investigation is still “in its early stages” and refraining from speculating at this stage on the possible motives behind the incident. “We are working closely” with the other law enforcement agencies involved, she continued, to “establish the circumstances of the incident”: which has been classified as “serious” from the outset. Evans also explained that the counter-terrorism unit is working alongside the regional police force, Gloucestershire Police, “to ensure the safety of the local community and to gather evidence at the scene” of the incident. He also noted that the cordon has now been reduced to “400 metres” around the three vans driven by the five suspects, whilst military bomb disposal teams from the Army’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit are at work using their robots and armoured vehicles to complete checks on the vehicles.

The people evacuated from the 85 homes in the village of Whelford, in the heart of the Cotswolds, a rural area where – albeit some distance from the base – members of the royal family and wealthy individuals also reside, are currently being sheltered at a local sports centre as a precautionary measure until the checks have been fully completed. Meanwhile, the British media are reporting that an ad hoc meeting of the Cobra emergency committee is due to take place, chaired by the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who is being kept constantly updated on the situation, as are the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, and the Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting.