Nandy condemns Farage claims linking Fairford arrests to small boats

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has criticised Reform UK leader Nigel Farage after he linked arrests connected to an incident at RAF Fairford with small-boat crossings and alleged Iranian agents entering Britain. Farage said he had warned for months about “Iranian agents” arriving across the Channel in small boats. He later claimed he had received intelligence that the Iranian regime was using small boats to bring operatives into the UK.

Less than an hour after that claim, Counter Terrorism Policing said the five suspects were all British nationals. The men, three residents of Westminster and two from Camden and Willesden, were released on bail while police continued investigating what they described as multiple lines of inquiry. Nandy told the Guardian that Farage was a “master of the conspiracy theory”.

She said he was effective at using public anxiety and distrust, particularly during a period of misinformation and disinformation, for political gain. The culture secretary defended the authorities’ decision not to release identity details immediately. She said the government’s first responsibility was to reassure the public that appropriate steps were being taken, and that information could sometimes be withheld in the public interest.

Counter Terrorism Policing senior national coordinator Vicki Evans asked for space to investigate the incident carefully and clearly, citing speculation about its motivation and wider geopolitical questions. Farage rejected the suggestion that his comments had been irresponsible. Other Reform figures, including Robert Jenrick and Richard Tice, also sought to connect the incident with small-boat crossings.

Green peer Jenny Jones accused Farage of trying to whip up division by scapegoating vulnerable people.