Five men suspected of planning an attack on RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire were arrested early Sunday, the BBC reported. The Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command confirmed the arrests on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act and under the Explosives Act. The men remain in custody.
RAF Fairford has been used for US Air Force strikes on Iran since the UK government authorised that use of UK bases in March. The BBC reported the threat alert at the base has since been raised to Delta, the highest level. It is the most significant suspected state-linked attack on UK soil since Salisbury and the first tied to the UK's role in a live military conflict.
Pool Re, Britain's government-backed terrorism reinsurer, provides commercial property reinsurance cover on an all-risks basis. Cover includes material damage, business interruption, non-damage business interruption and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) events. The scheme is backed by an unlimited HM Treasury guarantee and holds a fund of £7.4 billion as at March 31.
Cover activates only if HM Treasury certifies the event as an "act of terrorism" under the Reinsurance (Acts of Terrorism) Act 1993. The statutory definition requires the act to be carried out by persons acting in connection with an organisation directing force or violence against a government. Pool Re's scheme also carries a war exclusion.
Whether a successful attack directed by a foreign state's military apparatus would satisfy that definition is untested in UK courts. HM Treasury updated its interpretive principles for the Act in August 2025 and shared them with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA). The updates centre on the relationship between the act and an "organisation" but do not resolve the state-direction question. If an attack were classified as war rather than terrorism, the Pool Re scheme would not be activated - and standard commercial property policies carry their own war exclusions, meaning affected clients could face a scenario where neither terrorism nor property cover responds.
No property damage occurred at Fairford on Sunday. The plot was foiled, so Pool Re certification was not triggered and no claim arises. The incident nevertheless raises two questions for brokers advising clients near UK military installations.
The first concerns non-damage business interruption (NDBI). Cordon events and evacuations can generate losses without physical damage to the insured property. Pool Re's cover includes NDBI, sub-limited to £25 million, though it responds only once an event is certified. Brokers placing terrorism cover near military bases should confirm that NDBI provisions are in place and understand what triggers apply.
The second is take-up. Pool Re requires terrorism cover to be offered on request, but smaller businesses frequently go without it. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned in July that any base used for attacks on Iranian territory was a legitimate target. That statement, alongside Sunday's arrests, makes the adequacy of existing terrorism cover a live question for clients near affected areas.
The investigation is ongoing and no confirmed link to the Iranian state has been established by UK authorities. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC he was "not drawing a connection with Iran," though he acknowledged that Iran and its proxies "wish to do us harm." The identities of the five men have not been released.
