Two Latvian men arrested for trespassing at UK RAF base housing US, NATO intelligence

Two Latvian men have been arrested after allegedly breaking into an RAF military base in Cambridgeshire where US and NATO intelligence operates.

In the early hours of Thursday, security officers found the men in the base, after they had spotted an abandoned car nearby.

Later the area was searched and a small hole was discovered in the fence.

Both men were first arrested for trespassing on a prohibited place and criminal damage. They were then further arrested pursuant to the terms of the National Security Act 2023 for entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.

The investigation is now in the hands of counter-terrorism police.

RAF Molesworth is not a typical flying base. It hosts NATO's Intelligence Fusion Centre and the operations of the US military intelligence that supports American forces based in Europe.

Police haven't indicated what the two men were doing in the base or if they were trying to get to a specific building or facility.

Their motive remains under investigation.

Police were taking a “flexible approach,” Commander Helen Flanagan of Counter Terrorism Policing London said.

The two suspects are Latvian nationals who reside in the UK and were being detained by the police.

Officers have also been investigating two properties in Peterborough as part of the investigation.