Two Latvian men were arrested under the National Security Act after breaching a perimeter fence at RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. They face suspicion related to entering a prohibited place prejudicial to UK security. Counter-terror police are investigating.

Military & Paramilitary OperationsConventional Military PressureUnknown

Aggressor

Summary

Two Latvian men, aged 36 and 32 and living in the UK, were arrested inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire after a breach of a perimeter fence was discovered. Initial arrests were for trespass on a prohibited site and criminal damage. They were subsequently arrested under section 4 of the UK National Security Act 2023, relating to entering a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the UK. Investigation involved Ministry of Defence Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, and Counter Terrorism Policing London. No link has been established yet to a recent high-profile incident at RAF Fairford. Searches were carried out at two addresses in Peterborough. An abandoned vehicle near the base led to temporary partial closure of the A1M and other roads, but no threat was found. RAF Molesworth hosts a US $556 million defense intelligence facility and a NATO intelligence hub.

Classification

Confidence: High

The arrest under the National Security Act relating to entering a prohibited military site with suspected prejudicial intent indicates a hostile penetration or reconnaissance attempt, fitting hybrid warfare activity aimed at military security disruption or intelligence gathering.

Source URL

https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6ly0vzew9e8o?at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_campaign_type=owned&at_format=link&at_link_id=7C84EC40-C32A-11F1-9C4C-AB5A0F0EB480&at_link_origin=BBCBreaking&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=twitter

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: extension
Submitted: Oct 8, 2026, 16:11 UTC
Last updated: Nov 15, 2026, 02:40 UTC
Event time: May 3, 2023, 21:00 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "7b7b1698-e871-4cf4-8181-e1f58ba05a16",
  "url": "https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6ly0vzew9e8o?at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_campaign_type=owned&at_format=link&at_link_id=7C84EC40-C32A-11F1-9C4C-AB5A0F0EB480&at_link_origin=BBCBreaking&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=twitter",
  "source": "extension",
  "status": "processed",
  "category": "Military & Paramilitary Operations",
  "subcategory": "Conventional Military Pressure",
  "incident_type": "Unknown",
  "country": "United Kingdom",
  "source_reliability": "A",
  "info_credibility": "1",
  "tags": [
    "RAF Molesworth",
    "national security act",
    "Counter Terrorism",
    "Trespass",
    "Military Base Security",
    "UK National Security"
  ],
  "nodes": [],
  "countries": [],
  "where_text": "Land",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "Two Latvian men, aged 36 and 32 and living in the UK, were arrested inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire after a breach of a perimeter fence was discovered. Initial arrests were for trespass on a prohibited site and criminal damage. They were subsequently arrested under section 4 of the UK National Security Act 2023, relating to entering a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the UK. Investigation involved Ministry of Defence Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, and Counter Terrorism Policing London. No link has been established yet to a recent high-profile incident at RAF Fairford. Searches were carried out at two addresses in Peterborough. An abandoned vehicle near the base led to temporary partial closure of the A1M and other roads, but no threat was found. RAF Molesworth hosts a US $556 million defense intelligence facility and a NATO intelligence hub.",
  "summary_short": "Two Latvian men were arrested under the National Security Act after breaching a perimeter fence at RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. They face suspicion related to entering a prohibited place prejudicial to UK security. Counter-terror police are investigating.",
  "summary_extended": null,
  "actor_primary": "Two Latvian men",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "RAF Molesworth, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom",
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": 55.378051,
  "location_coordinates_lon": -3.435973,
  "location_precision": "Exact",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The arrest under the National Security Act relating to entering a prohibited military site with suspected prejudicial intent indicates a hostile penetration or reconnaissance attempt, fitting hybrid warfare activity aimed at military security disruption or intelligence gathering.",
  "event_time_utc": "2023-05-03T21:00:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "pm6h",
  "created_at": "2026-10-08T16:11:00.065Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-15T02:40:27.938Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "exact",
  "time_precision_band": "within_6h",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: Within 6 hoursLocation: Exact

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

May 3, 2023, 21:00 UTC

Event time confidence

pm6h

Location

RAF Molesworth, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

Primary actor

Two Latvian men

Country

United Kingdom

Tags

RAF Molesworth, national security act, Counter Terrorism, Trespass, Military Base Security, UK National Security

Loading signal...

{ "id": "7b7b1698-e871-4cf4-8181-e1f58ba05a16", "url": "https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6ly0vzew9e8o?at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_campaign_type=owned&at_format=link&at_link_id=7C84EC40-C32A-11F1-9C4C-AB5A0F0EB480&at_link_origin=BBCBreaking&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_ptr_name=twitter", "source": "extension", "status": "processed", "category": "Military & Paramilitary Operations", "subcategory": "Conventional Military Pressure", "incident_type": "Unknown", "country": "United Kingdom", "source_reliability": "A", "info_credibility": "1", "tags": [ "RAF Molesworth", "national security act", "Counter Terrorism", "Trespass", "Military Base Security", "UK National Security" ], "nodes": [], "countries": [], "where_text": "Land", "headline": null, "description": "Two Latvian men, aged 36 and 32 and living in the UK, were arrested inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire after a breach of a perimeter fence was discovered. Initial arrests were for trespass on a prohibited site and criminal damage. They were subsequently arrested under section 4 of the UK National Security Act 2023, relating to entering a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the UK. Investigation involved Ministry of Defence Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, and Counter Terrorism Policing London. No link has been established yet to a recent high-profile incident at RAF Fairford. Searches were carried out at two addresses in Peterborough. An abandoned vehicle near the base led to temporary partial closure of the A1M and other roads, but no threat was found. RAF Molesworth hosts a US $556 million defense intelligence facility and a NATO intelligence hub.", "summary_short": "Two Latvian men were arrested under the National Security Act after breaching a perimeter fence at RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. They face suspicion related to entering a prohibited place prejudicial to UK security. Counter-terror police are investigating.", "summary_extended": null, "actor_primary": "Two Latvian men", "target_primary": null, "location_text": "RAF Molesworth, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom", "location_region": null, "location_coordinates_lat": 55.378051, "location_coordinates_lon": -3.435973, "location_precision": "Exact", "is_aggressor_signal": true, "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL", "is_hybrid_war_signal": true, "classification_complete": true, "hybrid_signal_complete": true, "classification_confidence": "High", "classification_rationale": "The arrest under the National Security Act relating to entering a prohibited military site with suspected prejudicial intent indicates a hostile penetration or reconnaissance attempt, fitting hybrid warfare activity aimed at military security disruption or intelligence gathering.", "event_time_utc": "2023-05-03T21:00:00.000Z", "end_time_utc": null, "event_time_confidence": "pm6h", "created_at": "2026-10-08T16:11:00.065Z", "updated_at": "2026-11-15T02:40:27.938Z", "reliability_band": "strong", "location_precision_band": "exact", "time_precision_band": "within_6h", "severity_band": "moderate", "attribution_confidence_band": "high", "attribution_basis": "single_source" }