Two men charged with national security offences over RAF Fairford incident

Two men have been charged with national security offences following an investigation into an incident involving RAF Fairford, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced.

Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim, 24, of London, has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. Nouman Essghir, 24, also of London, has been charged with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK.

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:

“Earlier this morning, Nouman Essghir, 24, a British national from the Borough of Westminster, London, was charged under Section 4 of the National Security Act 2023, for suspected activity on Saturday 22 August. He was first arrested at the scene in Gloucestershire on Sunday 27 September, and re-arrested on 20 October.

“Essghir will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court this morning.

“A second man, a 25-year-old dual UK/Iranian national, re-arrested on the same date, has been released without charge. However, he remains on police bail following his first arrest on Thursday 1 October.

“Following the re-arrest of these individuals, detectives also interviewed a further man under caution.

“As a result, Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim, a 24-year-old British national, from the Borough of Westminster, London, has been charged under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023, which makes it an offence to assist a foreign intelligence service.

“In this case, we believe that country to be Iran. Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim will appear at Westminster Magistrates today.

“The five other men arrested in connection with this investigation, remain on police bail.

“We have seen a range of incidents in recent months that we believe have been directed by the Iranian state, and as the Director General of Mi5 said just the other week, we are working together to intervene, identify and respond to that threat.

“The public can help us with this, and as always, I would urge them to report anything that they’re worried about – those reports can and do make a difference.”

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.”

The first hearing will take place at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today (27 October).

This is breaking news, more to follow…