Three vans were spotted near RAF Fairford in the early hours of Sunday 27th September and the police were called. A major incident was declared, and everyone in the small village of Whelford was evacuated.

RAF Fairford is a military airfield located in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds. It is owned by the UK’s Ministry of Defence, but is operated on a day-to-day basis by the United States Air Force under an agreement between the UK and US.

Five men, all British nationals in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and terrorism offences, and they were later released on bail. A dual UK-Iranian national, aged 25, has also since been arrested on suspicion of terror offences.

BBC Reporter Steve Knibbs visited the usually quiet village in rural Gloucestershire to speak to its residents and find out more.

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More than 1,500 lorries are stuck in Kent waiting to leave the UK as politicians thrash out a plan to reopen France’s border to trade and travel.

France shut its UK border for 48 hours on Sunday amid fears of a new coronavirus variant. More than 50 countries have now banned UK arrivals.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said 650 lorries are stacked up on the M20, with a further 873 at a lorry park.

The UK’s top scientist has warned the new variant is “everywhere”.

Sir Patrick Vallance added that further restrictions are likely to be needed in more areas of England.

In England, 17 million people are under tier four rules, the toughest level, where people are being told to stay at home and not leave the area. Some parts of England, as well as Wales, have asked people who travel from tier four areas to self-isolate.

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With Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigning from cabinet and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s route to Westminster becoming clearer, pressure is mounting on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he faces potential challenges to his leadership following last week’s election results.

A BBC Question Time audience member asks: “Are Labour just rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic?”

Featuring Conservative Michael Gove, Labour’s Jenny Chapman, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union Steve Wright, and Reform UK’s Danny Kruger.

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President Donald Trump has said the US moved its bombers out of RAF Fairford because of “some threats” to the base.

The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday it had removed its bombers – thought to be about a dozen B-1s – from the base back to their home stations in America.

Speaking to reporters as he departed for Nebraska on Monday, Trump said the US had known of a “threat”, which led them to move the bombers.

Earlier a UK government spokesperson insisted that RAF Fairford was safe and pointed to Trump’s comments last week, where he praised the UK’s “police, defence and security services” in relation to the base.

Trump’s comments appear to confirm reports by US media that a new threat led to the bombers being removed after a major incident on 27 September when police were alerted to three “suspicious vehicles” near the airbase. Six men have been arrested while a police investigation into a suspected terror plot continue. The UK government has suggested a link to Iran is likely.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump was asked if a “specific threat” had led the US to pull its bombers from the airbase and said: “Yeah I think we can say that. They didn’t fly out by accident…. There were some threats. And rather than tempting the enemy, we’ll capture the enemy and beat the enemy. But why should we leave them there? So we moved them around a little bit. Not very far.”

The exact nature of the threat that prompted the aircraft’s removal from RAF Fairfield remains unclear, but sources in suggested that there were fears of a drone strike or sabotage attempts in the event of resumed hostilities with Iran.

One source close to the White House pointed to Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb – a covert drone attack on five Russian bases in June last year – as an example of what a determined enemy force could do.

Clive Myrie presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Frank Gardner and Gary O’Donoghue.

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The co-pilot who attempted to take control of a Flydubai plane travelling to Israel attacked the pilot with a crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said.

The flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying more than 170 people plunged 17,000ft (5,200m) two and a half hours into its journey, before passengers managed to overpower the attacker and successfully take control of the plane.

Two reserve pilots then landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.

The UAE attorney general told state media that investigations were ongoing to determine the full circumstances and motives of the incident.

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