Two men have been charged under the National Security Act as part of the investigation into the incident at RAF Fairford in September.

Nouman Essghir, 24, a British national from the Borough of Westminster, London, was charged under Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023, for suspected activity on Saturday 22 August. He was first arrested at the scene in Gloucestershire on Sunday 27 September, and re-arrested on 20 October. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrate's Court later today.

A second man, a 25-year-old dual UK/Iranian national, who was also re-arrested on 20th October, has been released without charge. However, he is still on police bail following his first arrest on Thursday 1 October. 

After these two rearrests, detectives interviewed another man under caution. This man, Mohammed Abdul Karim, a 24-year-old British national, from the Borough of Westminster, London, has been charged under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, which makes it an offence to assist a foreign intelligence service. In this case, the country in question is Iran.

The five other men who were arrested in connection with this case remain on police bail.

Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said: “We have seen a range of incidents in recent months that we believe have been directed by the Iranian state, and as the Director General of Mi5 said just the other week, we are working together to intervene, identify and respond to that threat.

“The public can help us with this, and as always, I would urge them to report anything that they’re worried about – those reports can and do make a difference.”