Two Latvian men have been arrested in the United Kingdom on suspicion of trespassing at a Royal Air Force base in Cambridgeshire after a section of its perimeter fence was breached.
The men, aged 36 and 32, were arrested inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth after a security patrol discovered an abandoned vehicle at about 10pm on Wednesday, according to police.
Ministry of Defence Police officers and Cambridgeshire Constabulary subsequently searched the area and found a small breach in the base’s perimeter fence several hours later.
The pair, who police said live in the UK, were initially arrested on suspicion of trespassing on a prohibited site and criminal damage before being taken to a police station in Cambridgeshire.
They were later arrested again on suspicion of an offence under Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023, relating to entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.
Counter Terrorism Policing is investigating the incident, although authorities said there was currently no indication that it was connected to last week’s high-profile incident at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said investigators were aware of heightened concern around military sites but had found nothing to suggest a link between the two incidents.
RAF Molesworth, located west of Huntingdon near the Northamptonshire border, houses US intelligence operations centres for Europe and Africa, as well as a NATO intelligence hub.
Police have also conducted searches at two addresses in the Peterborough area as part of the investigation.
Flanagan said the inquiry was still at an early stage, with officers examining why the two men were at the military site.
She urged members of the public to remain vigilant and report anything they consider suspicious to the police.
