“The British government’s decision to allow the use of Fairford has dragged the country even further into this devastating war.”
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) have released the following press release, explaining and advertising the protest on Saturday 15th August 1pm at RAF Fairford.
Campaigners from across the country are protesting at RAF Fairford this Saturday, calling on Prime Minister Andy Burnham to end Donald Trump’s use of British bases to illegally attack Iran.
With thousands now killed in the US/Israeli illegal war on Iran, and serious risks of the war widening, the British government’s decision to allow the use of Fairford has dragged the country even further into this devastating war.
In late July, a US B-1 bomber from RAF Fairford was reported to have attacked Iran, in further breach of the ceasefire. In response, Iran’s foreign ministry stated that Britain is an ‘accomplice’ to the US’s illegal war and that British bases like RAF Fairford are now legitimate targets.
Burnham’s government further escalated the situation by releasing a statement saying, “The UK stands ready 24/7 to defend itself… This includes through operating a layered approach to air and missile defence, provided by Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force assets equipped with a range of advanced capabilities, working closely with our Nato allies.”
This escalation comes as the Trump administration has been trying to hide the true scale of hundreds of US military casualties, and as an apparent deadly mutiny takes place on the US carrier Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed off the coast of Iran for over 260 days, a modern-era record for a US aircraft carrier.
New British Prime Minister Burham is under increasing pressure to act. Leaders of ten British trade unions have joined the call for him to revoke US permission to use bases like Fairford to attack Iran. They rightly argue that the illegal US-Israeli war is “deepening the cost of living crisis faced by our members and the British public.”
- 15 August 2026
- 1:00pm-3:00pm
- RAF Fairford, Whelford Road, GL7 4EE
Protestors will be tying children’s clothes and backpacks to the perimeter fence of RAF Fairford, to remember the war crime of the bombing of Minab school, which killed 120 children. The perimeter fence looks out over the base’s runway – the longest in Europe – and at the US B1 bombers stationed there. Children and their parents will also be writing messages and making artworks.
CND General Secretary Sophie Bolt said:
“Trump’s brutal and reckless illegal war is making the British population a target and pushing the global economy to the brink of recession. If Andy Burnham wants to keep the British public safe, he needs to stop dragging Britain deeper into this illegal war on Iran and call time on the use of British bases like Fairford.
“Nuclear hypocrisy lies at the very heart of this war. The US has sabotaged every opportunity to secure a peaceful way forward over Iran’s nuclear programme. Meanwhile nuclear-armed Israel and the US breach international law, continue the genocidal war on the Palestinian people and bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure. On Saturday, we’ll be sending a clear message to Andy Burnham: Stand up to Trump and send the US bombers home!”
TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said:
“We will not stand by while British bases are used to wage an illegal war on Iran, driving up fuel, food and household costs. The government cannot claim to tackle the cost of living crisis while allowing Donald Trump to use our bases to pound another Middle Eastern country. Britain must refuse involvement and order an immediate end to the use of our bases.”
Cllr Helen Fenton, Stroud District Council, said:
“I’m supporting the Fairford Action demonstration on 15 August, because Fairford US air base is being used to commit crimes against international law, and atrocities against civilians.“US and Israeli warplanes are dropping bombs on innocent civilians in Iran, without any mandate from the United Nations. This is a bullying tactic, and we must stand up to bullying. Please join us.”
Arjang Alidai of Iranians Against War said:
“Our message to the Prime Minister is clear: By providing logistical support to the US military, Britain is directly complicit in the aggressions against Iran. Britain must stop supporting this senseless war. As Iranians who live and pay taxes in this country, we want Britain’s resources directed towards improving the lives of its people, not towards military interventions that bring devastation to ordinary families abroad. The path forward lies in diplomacy and mutual respect, not in war, sanctions, and policies that harm working people in Britain while causing suffering in Iran.”
Stop the War Coalition Vice-Chair Chris Nineham said:
“It is most obviously through allowing the US’s biggest bombers to launch from Fairford that Britain is participating in Trump’s brutal, illegal war of choice on Iran. We will be there in numbers on Saturday to tell the new Prime Minister that this collusion has to stop. It is deeply dangerous and has next to no support in the country.”
Fairford Action organiser Shel McDonagh, said:
“Yet again we return here as RAF Fairford is being used in another illegal war. US wars of aggression are putting the people of Fairford and the surrounding areas at direct risk of an attack whilst continuing to contaminate the local area. It’s time for our government to tell the US to go home, for airbases worldwide such as Fairford to be returned to their communities and nature, with reparations to all those affected by the US occupation of their lands.
“We call for Burnham to immediately halt the use of UK sovereign territory by the US military, instead of allowing the US to commit heinous war crimes from Gloucestershire. The US military isn’t here to protect us, it’s here to destroy us. There is no peace in war, and there is no justice when our politicians can’t put our communities before corrupt international powers.”
Drone Wars researcher Peter Burt said:
“Fairford is at the forefront of Trump’s campaign to intimidate the world by military force – not just as a forward base for heavy bombers but as an important location for intelligence gathering and target selection.
“Plans for the deployment of US spy drones at Fairford in the near future will only add to the importance of the base for the US military.
“Trump’s illegal war on Iran shows that UK prime ministers have neither the authority nor the spine to control what goes on at Fairford and the other US military bases in this country – even though polls show a
majority of people believe that US armed forces should not be based over here.”
- This article was originally published by CND on 13 August 2026.
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