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Police searched two sites in Gloucestershire, home to GCHQ and a Nato corps HQ. Photo / Getty Images
A senior US soldier has been arrested by British counter-terror police for allegedly spying for Russia.
The 41-year-old was detained on suspicion of terror offences under the National Security Act, near Gloucester on Tuesday, according to Scotland Yard.
The country to which the allegations related was Russia, the force added.
Two locations in Gloucestershire were being searched on Tuesday. The county is home to the headquarters of GCHQ, which is based in Cheltenham, and the headquarters of the Nato Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.
It is believed to be the first time a US soldier has been arrested on suspicion of spying offences on British soil.
Kash Patel, the FBI director, described the arrest as important and said it involved “allegations of espionage”.
“This FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners,” he said.
‘Threats are real and persistent’
Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, the commander general of the US military’s counter-intelligence command, said the arrest was a “sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent”.
The senior soldier’s arrest was the result of close collaboration between UK and US authorities, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans of Counter Terrorism Policing, said.
She added that the investigation was “very much ongoing”. Police also confirmed that the investigation was not linked to any other ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing inquiries.
The Nato Allied Rapid Reaction Corps is a multinational military headquarters featuring personnel from more than 20 alliance nations.
Commanded by the British Army, the site holds a readiness force capable of deploying up to tens of thousands of troops on short notice anywhere Nato requires.
US withdraws from RAF Mildenhall
Tuesday’s arrest marked the latest in a string of high-profile security incidents in the UK.
Earlier in the day, the Pentagon had withdrawn at least a dozen aircraft from RAF Mildenhall following reports of an Iranian threat to US military sites.
Nine refuelling tankers were relocated from the base in Suffolk to other facilities in the UK, Germany and Spain.
The evacuation was prompted by Iranian threats that US officials were alerted to on Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In September, US bombers were removed from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire after a suspected Iranian terror plot near the base.
Two British men charged over the incident were allegedly handled by an operative believed to be working for Iran, a court heard last month.
Two Latvian men were arrested on suspicion of trespassing at RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. The base, considered to be the “crown jewel” of Nato military intelligence, was hosting a Russian conference at the time.
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