No10 insists UK military base RAF Fairford is safe after US withdraws bombers

Downing Street has insisted RAF Fairford is safe, after the US withdrew all of its bombers from the military 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.US media reported a new threat led to the bombers being removed, which follows a major incident on 27 September when police were alerted to three "suspicious vehicles" near the airbase.A No 10 spokesperson said he would not comment on "foreign nations' military operations", but said the base was safe, and pointed to US President Donald Trump's comments last week, where he "praised our police, defence and security services" in relation to the base.He added that Defence Secretary Wes Streeting had said last week, "we have tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world".Speaking on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would not directly tie last week's incident to the decision to pull bombers from RAF Fairford. He added the US still has full confidence in the security of all its bases and that British authorities have been very cooperative since the incident.RAF Fairford - in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire - is at the centre of an incident being investigated by counter-terror police.