Two bailed after RAF Molesworth perimeter breach as police examine motive

Two men arrested inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire have been released on strict bail while counter-terrorism detectives investigate why they entered the base, the Metropolitan Police said on 9 October. Neither man has been charged, and the suspected purpose of the entry has not been established.

What officers found

Ministry of Defence Police patrols found an abandoned vehicle near the perimeter late on 7 October. A small breach in the fence was then identified and the men were located inside the base in the early hours of 8 October. They are Latvian nationals aged 32 and 36 who live in Britain, according to the Met. Police have searched two addresses in the Peterborough area and recovered the vehicle.

The legal threshold

The men were first arrested on suspicion of trespass and criminal damage, and later on suspicion of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK under section 4 of the National Security Act. An arrest on that suspicion is not a finding of espionage, foreign direction or guilt. Detectives say a central line of enquiry is whether the entry was connected to any criminal activity.

Why the base matters

RAF Molesworth supports US and allied intelligence work, making a breach of its perimeter a serious security concern. But the Met says nothing found so far connects the incident to last week’s separate RAF Fairford investigation. The photograph shows US security personnel working at Molesworth in September 2023, not the October 2026 breach.