Freya Scott-Turner
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

A quiet corner of Gloucestershire found itself at the centre of the headlines today, after police declared a major incident near RAF Fairford.

The alarm was sounded at around 00:45 BST, as "three suspicious vehicles" were seen travelling towards the base.

Five men have been arrested on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act and explosive offences.

Fairford is used by the US Air Force, which has - since March - been launching attacks against Iran from its runway.

The investigation is now in the hands of Counter Terror Police, who have said its investigation is in the "early stages".

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has urged "not to speculate while the authorities establish the full facts". And we also heard from US President Donald Trump, who told reporters that the accused were "looking to do big damage to our fort".

As of Sunday evening, the cordon remains in place, and more than 80 households are unable to return home while investigations into the vehicles continue.

We're ending our live coverage now, but you can keep up-to-date with the latest on this in our news story.

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

RAF Fairford is a slice of America in the heart of England; a forward operating base for the US Air Force since the Cold War.

Its two-mile runway is so long it was once an emergency backup for the US space shuttle programme.

Now it is a vital launchpad for the vast, lumbering bombers President Donald Trump uses to strike Iran, the only airbase with such capabilities available to the US in Europe.

And that – by definition – has long made it a potential target.

In July, Iran's foreign ministry accused the UK of being complicit in war crimes for allowing the US to use Fairford as a staging post for defensive strikes in its war against Tehran.

And it warned "any party that, in any manner, participates in military aggression against Iran will bear responsibility for the consequences and repercussions of its decision".

That was seen as an explicit threat.

Read more in James Landale's full analysis here

Image source, PA Media

Simon Jones
Reporting from Gloucestershire

A local resident who says she alerted the police to suspicious activity around the military base in the early hours of this morning says she called the MoD police initially, but nobody answered.

The woman - who doesn't want to be named - saw the three vans parked up and a group of men wearing masks.

She then called 999. She says security had been stepped up around the base in recent days, so she was surprised the men had not been noticed before.

The MoD declined to comment.

As we've been reporting, Counter Terrorism Police (CTP) are now leading the investigation into the major incident around RAF Fairford.

CTP is not a distinct agency or an independent police force. Rather, it's a policing network.

It's made up of 11 regional counter terrorism units and intelligence units that collaborate to prevent and investigate terrorism in the UK.

Its personnel belong to 43 police forces from across England and Wales, alongside the police services of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But CTP is unified centrally and has a headquarters in London, hosted by the Metropolitan Police.

Image source, Getty Images

What should have been a quiet Sunday morning in a Gloucestershire village has been upended, as the Army and other emergency services were called to respond to a major incident near the RAF Fairford military base.

Here's how it's unfolded.

00:45 BST: Gloucestershire police says it received a call reporting "three suspicious vehicles" travelling towards RAF Fairford.

Around 07:00 BST: Residents in the village of Whelford - which is around two miles (3.2 km) from the base - describe being woken up by police, who told them to evacuate from their homes to a local leisure centre.

Shortly after 08:00 BST: Gloucestershire police says a "major incident" has been declared near RAF Fairford, and that several men have been arrested on suspicion of explosives offences.

Throughout the morning: A cordon remains in place in Whelford, while specialist teams - and a robot - are seen examining vehicles.

11:33 BST: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirms the incident has been "contained".

14:15 BST: Authorities give an update, confirming Counter Terrorism Police is leading the investigation. They say that that five men remain in custody.

Shortly after: Counter Terror Police says it is "in the early stages" of its investigation, and "working closely" with partners "understand the circumstances of the incident".

16:18 BST: US President Donald Trump tells reporters that the men arrested near RAF Fairford on Sunday were "looking to do big damage". "We had them under investigation," he adds.

18:13 BST: Police in Gloucestershire provide an update, saying that they consider the matter contained. It is also confirmed that dozens of displaced households will not return to homes inside the cordon tonight, as counter-terror police continue to investigate.

Local authorities in Gloucestershire have just given an update about the incident near RAF Fairford.

Here's what we learned:

• Gloucestershire Constabulary's Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said a disposal unit continues to examine three vehicles near Whelford
• She says that counter terrorism police are now leading the investigation and will decide if the case should be declared a terrorism incident - no such decision has been made so far
• The temporary chief constable gave reassurance that the incident is now contained following "swift arrests". She added that Gloucestershire police had been preparing for an incident of this nature
• Blyth said around 85 households can expect to be away from their homes this evening - David Stanley, of Cotswold District Council, said the council will support any residents who need accommodation or have other needs

A bit more now from the press conference with authorities in Gloucestershire, which has concluded.

David Stanley of Cotswold District Council says they have been working with the affected residents to arrange accommodation. He notes that some people are staying with family and friends, and the others will have overnight accommodation found for them.

Asked again about the phone call, Blyth says the she wants to reassure communities that any call into the force is "always acted on".

She is then asked if a controlled explosion was carried out. The police chief says she can not comment.

Responding to a question about how long residents can expect to be away from their homes, Blyth says they will not be able to return home this evening and the situation is being monitored.

Stanley, of Cotswold District Council, adds that the council will be reviewing the situation in light of any updates over the next few hours and it will support any residents with any accommodation or other needs if that is necessary.

Blyth is next asked if they are looking for anybody additional. She says she can't go into detail but "can give reassurance that we believe the matter to be contained".

Blyth adds that they are "gathering and responding to local intelligence all the time".

As for the concerns local residents might have about being so close to a US military base, Blyth says they respond to raised matters "all the time" in collaboration with other agencies.

David Stanley of Cotswold District Council adds here that they are "completely aware" of residents concerns, and are working to address these on an "ongoing basis".

Blyth is asking by LBC if Gloucestershire police had been preparing for a major incident like this.

She says the force prepares for this sort of incident "all of the time" and is very well prepared.

She adds that this is a "normal response for us".

Blyth says that there were "swift arrests" but does not say how many officers were involved in the response.

Blyth is also asked if the RAF did not pick up the phone when a concerned resident called. She says that she can not go into the response overnight.

Blyth says this is "a fast moving situation", with all agencies across Gloucestershire "actively working to respond to our communities needs".

She adds that they will continue to assist Counter Terror Police (CTP) with the investigation.

Moving onto questions, Blyth is first asked for detail about the vans, but says she can't provide information because it is part of CTP's investigation.

She confirms that it was Gloucestershire police that made the initial arrests, and notes that CTP have "primacy" over the investigation now. Blyth says it is a matter for them to decide if it will be declared a terrorist incident.

Gloucestershire Constabulary's Temporary Chief Constable Maggie Blyth begins the press conference by saying that a disposal unit continues to examine three vehicles near Whelford.

She says that counter terrorism police are leading the investigation, and says she can't give further details.

Blyth says that the arrests will have caused "some shock and anxiety" in the community and it is working to support people.

She says that a cordon remains in place.

We're expecting to hear an update shortly from the police on their response to the RAF Fairford incident.

Earlier, Gloucestershire police confirmed that five men has been arrested on suspicion of explosives offences after "three suspicious vehicles" were spotted near the base.

You'll be able to watch live at the top of this page. We'll also bring you key details from their remarks here.

Bea Swallow
Live page reporter

Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Chris Nelson, has issued a statement thanking residents for their patience amid the ongoing incident.

Nelson says he had "refrained from commenting until now" while Gloucestershire Constabulary established the facts of what he described as a "fast-moving situation".

"I'd like to begin by thanking the residents of Whelford and Fairford for their understanding whilst policing and the armed forces have been dealing with this incident," he adds.

"Strong communities, like those in the Cotswolds are what helps keep communities safe and make them more resilient.

"I also want to pay tribute to the comprehensive emergency service and local council response, following well understood major incident and contingency plans."

Nelson says his focus is on supporting local people and ensuring residents are kept informed about when it is safe to return home, alongside what reassurance can be provided in the weeks and months ahead.

Image source, Getty Images

The US military says it is "working closely" with its UK counterparts after five men were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences near RAF Fairford, where the US Air Force has a significant presence.

“We are working closely with our UK counterparts to monitor this situation, minimise impacts and ensure the safety of US personnel, their families, and the local community," a spokesperson says.

Three white vans turned up in the small village of Whelford - next to RAF Fairford - in the early hours of Sunday morning. In the hours since, five people have been arrested, a bomb disposal team has been deployed and 85 homes were evacuated.

Police say they were alerted to the incident after receiving a call from a resident reporting "three suspicious vehicles" travelling towards the base.

Rich Preston
BBC News

Protection of the UK's military sites is shared between several organisations and covers more than a hundred facilities used by the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, the Army, and other Ministry of Defence (MoD) departments.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation manages the entire defence estate. It's part of the MoD.

Armed soldiers are provided by the Military Provost Guard Service. The MoD Guard Service provides an unarmed presence.

In the case of RAF Fairford, they're supported in their work by the RAF Police as well as the local police force, Gloucestershire Constabulary.

London's Metropolitan Police leads the UK's counter-terror policing.

The Security Service (MI5) is the UK's domestic security and intelligence agency which evaluates the intelligence picture and assesses threats against the UK.

Naturally, they work closely with their counterparts in countries like the US.

Image source, .

An image purporting to show the moment five men were arrested near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire has been sent to BBC Your Voice.

The person who sent us the image told us it was taken last night and then shared on a local village WhatsApp group.

We are unable to verify the original source but BBC Verify has geolocated the image and can confirm it appears to be authentic.

It shows detained men in Whelford, about 350 metres from runway access at Crash Gate 6A at RAF Fairford.

This is 40 metres from where two bomb disposal vehicles were seen overnight, and 90 metres from where bomb disposal vehicles have been pictured in helicopter footage today.

It’s also about 200 metres by road from where a robot has been pictured moving between three white vans.

Image source, Getty Images

US President Donald Trump tells reporters that the men arrested near RAF Fairford on Sunday were "looking to do big damage".

"We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great," he says.

"It may have been Scotland Yard, I don’t know. We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.

"It was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job."