Two men charged under National Security Act over Fairford

British prosecutors charged Mohmed Abdulkarim, 24, with assisting a foreign intelligence service and Nouman Essghir, 24, with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK, both under the National Security Act 2023, following the investigation into last month's incident at RAF Fairford, the Crown Prosecution Service said on Tuesday.

Why it matters: These are the first charges in the Fairford investigation, in which counter-terrorism police say they believe the foreign intelligence service involved was Iran's, a claim Tehran has denied, and they move the case from arrests and public attribution into court.

Data as of Correction: the first version of this item, published earlier on October 27, 2026, carried the wrong defendants, ages and charges, taken from faulty source reads; it has been rewritten in full. This version rests on the Crown Prosecution Service press release of October 27, 2026, read in full in this run, for the defendants, the charges, the statutory sections and the hearing date, corroborated by BBC and PA Media reporting of the same day, also read in full. The statement that police believe the foreign intelligence service was Iran's is from Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of national counter-terrorism policing, as reported by Reuters and the BBC; the CPS release itself does not name a country, and Iran has denied involvement in the Fairford incident. The charges are allegations that have not been tested in court. Developing item.

British prosecutors charged two 24-year-old men from the borough of Westminster in London on Tuesday following the counter-terrorism investigation into last month’s incident at RAF Fairford. Mohmed Abdulkarim was charged with one offence of assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3(2) of the National Security Act 2023, over conduct between August 31 and September 28 that prosecutors say was likely to materially assist a foreign intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities. Nouman Essghir was charged with one offence of entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK, contrary to section 4(1) of the same act, over approaching or being in the vicinity of a prohibited place on August 22. Frank Ferguson, chief crown prosecutor for the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the CPS had decided to prosecute the two following the Counter Terrorism Policing investigation into what he called a high-profile incident involving RAF Fairford.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of national counter-terrorism policing, said police believed the foreign intelligence service Abdulkarim is accused of assisting was Iran’s. The first hearing was due at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, and five other men arrested during the investigation remain on police bail. The investigation began on September 27, when three suspicious vehicles were seen near the Gloucestershire base, which is used by the United States, a major incident was declared and nearby residents were evacuated. Iran has denied any involvement in the incident; the charges are allegations that have not been tested in court.

Two men charged under National Security Act over Fairford

Sources