The Wrap With Gillian Joseph

Counter-terror police are investigating whether Iran is linked to a suspected plot to bomb RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, where US aircraft are based. Five men were arrested after police received a call about three suspicious vehicles travelling towards the base in the early hours of Sunday 27 September; armed officers detained them on suspicion of explosives offences and later on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. A 400-metre cordon surrounded the village of Whelford and 85 homes were evacuated. Police can hold the men for up to 14 days without charge, and the nationality of the five is not known. President Donald Trump said the arrest was fantastic and that the US had been working with Britain, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the safety and security of the public is the first priority. The report noted Iran had previously identified UK bases as potential targets and that RAF Fairford has been used by US bombers in strikes on Iran.

In Portadown, a tense standoff took place after a contentious Orange Order parade was prevented from going ahead. The High Court in Belfast had given permission for unionists to march through a nationalist area, but local residents and Northern Ireland's first minister blocked the Garvaghy Road. The report described the first such parade on the route in three decades, with residents gathering before dawn to stop it. Police warned that organising or taking part in the protest could be an offence, and the Secretary of State said no elected politician should support an unlawful protest. Unionists criticised Sinn Fein's involvement, and the report said the dispute raised concerns about the stability of Stormont and power-sharing.

At the Labour conference in Liverpool, Andy Burnham said he would fight the next general election on raising taxes to pay for social care and that nothing was off the table, with the plan to be put to the public at the next election. The conference also brought announcements that Avanti West Coast would be the seventh rail company nationalised and that the government would reopen the UK resettlement scheme, with around one in four arrivals expected to be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians. The home secretary said small boat arrivals had hit their lowest levels since 2021. The chancellor was expected to speak, with hints on fuel duty and corporation tax, while Wes Streeting said he was no longer running to be Labour leader.