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Anti-war protest at RAF base being used by US

Daisy Bodkin,in Fairfordand
Sophie Parker,West of England
News imageBBC Two women stand in front of other protesters near an RAF Fairford entrance sign. They are holding signs, one is round and in the format of a giant stop sign in red. It features a painted military drone and the words "Stop drone killing". The other sign simply states "US war mongers go home" in black capital letters.BBC
Demonstrators protest outside RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire

Dozens of demonstrators have been protesting outside RAF Fairford, which is being used by US forces as a base to strike Iran.

A US bomber capable of carrying 24 cruise missiles landed at the Gloucestershire site on Friday and three more arrived earlier.

Sir Keir Starmer recently approved the use of UK bases for "defensive" US action against Iranian missile sites.

Two of the protesters – from Wiltshire, near the base – said they hoped their demonstration would "signal" that "the British public are not necessarily behind this by any means". A much smaller group also arrived at the protest in support of the UK military.

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It has been more than seven days since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, which led Tehran to retaliate with its own attacks across the region.

Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Iraq have all been hit, as has an RAF base in Cyprus.

Liz Maison Pierre and Lorna Dixon were among the 50 to 60 protesters at RAF Fairford. They said they believed "a lot of people are going gung-ho into this war without any thought".

"Starmer needs to stand up and say, 'No, don't use our bases'," they added.

Chris Cole – from Drone Wars UK, an organisation that stands against armed drones – was part of the group.

He said: "It's important people stand up and say no to what's going on. We're out here to say on behalf of the public that we disagree with this."

News imageA group of protesters holding signs. One has a rainbow flag with the word "peace", others have simpler signs such as one saying "leave Fairford". It is a grey day.
Several of the protest signs shared messages of peace

However, a handful of others attended to show their support for the UK military.

Nick Franklin, from Patriots! Stand Up Gloucestershire, said: "Nobody wants war but we also don't want to be walked all over."

He said he would tell the other protesters to "grow up", adding: "Get involved and get behind our military."

The group believe the US-Israel war with Iran will benefit the Iranian people.

Gloucestershire Constabulary attended the protest to "enable lawful peaceful protest".

News imageNick smiles at the camera. He wears a jacket covered in union jack flags, he is holding an England flag and has two union flags behind him, as well as an American flag and an Israeli one.
Nick Franklin attended the demonstration, saying others need to "get behind our military"

President Trump earlier vowed to hit Iran "very hard". He said the US military was considering new targets in the country.

Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador to the UK has told the BBC there is "willingness" not to strike its neighbours – but he said the country would defend itself.

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