Pair charged over RAF Fairford incident - with suspect accused of assisting Iranian intelligence

Two British men have been charged with national security offences following an incident at RAF Fairford last month.

Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, and Nouman Essghir, 24, were charged under the National Security Act 2023.

Abdulkarim, of London, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service - allegedly Iran - after police interviewed him under caution in the last week.

Essghir, also of London, has been charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.

Counter terror police said the two men would appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

Essghir was one of two men re-arrested last week - having originally been arrested at the scene in Gloucestershire on 27 September.

The second man has been released without charge, but remains under police bail following his first arrest on 1 October.

Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: "The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute two individuals with National Security Act offences following a Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into a high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford.

"We will continue to work closely with our partners as this complex investigation continues."

Five other men arrested during the investigation remain on police bail.

Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the UK, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, said in a press conference: "In sensitive investigations like this, it can take time to convert intelligence into evidence."

Mr Taylor said this is what scores of officers and staff had been doing over the last few weeks - reviewing extensive CCTV footage, as well as the contents of dozens of digital devices seized as part of the investigation.

"While some of the circumstances remain unclear, we are confident that this activity was conducted on behalf of a foreign intelligence service."

He went on to say that investigations involving proxies take time to establish what individuals involved knew.

"Sometimes individuals can have no knowledge at all, or even partial knowledge of what they're being asked to do on behalf of foreign states. Sometimes they have full knowledge. This is not a theoretical threat. This is something we are responding to every day at counter-terrorism policing, particularly in the case of Iran," he added.

He urged the public to report anything that they're worried about, stressing that "those reports can and do make a difference".

More from Sky News:
Harry Kane wins Ballon d'Or
Poundland close to collapse

A complex investigation

Three suspicious vans were stopped near the airbase in Gloucestershire on 27 September.

Earlier this month, the US removed its bombers from RAF Fairford.

US President Donald Trump later told reporters outside the White House that "threats" led to the decision to remove the bombers, including B-1s, B-2s and B-52s.

However, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham insisted the RAF base remains secure.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

(c) Sky News 2026: Pair charged over RAF Fairford incident - with suspect accused of assisting Iranian intelligence