The Untold Battles

A US Air Force B-52H takes off from RAF Fairford in November 2024. The base in Gloucestershire is operated by the US military. (File photograph). Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there are "strong indications" that Iran played a part in the security incident that saw five men arrested near RAF Fairford at the weekend. The statement, made in a series of broadcast interviews on Wednesday, is the first time Britain has publicly pointed the finger at Tehran over the incident at the US-operated airbase in Gloucestershire. "There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course it remains an ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation," Burnham told the BBC. "And of course, we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America." Key facts Five British men in their 20s were arrested on Sunday near the perimeter of RAF Fairford on suspicion of explosives offences an...

Thames House on Millbank, the London headquarters of MI5, the UK's Security Service. (Photograph: Iridescenti, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.) MI5 Issues Espionage Alert Over Chinese Institute Using UK University Research Britain's domestic intelligence service has accused China of running a research institute as a front for spying, warning that more than 100 UK-based academics have unknowingly contributed to work that improved Beijing's espionage capability. The unprecedented public warning was issued by MI5 on Wednesday in the form of an "Espionage Alert". The service says it is the first time it has independently published an alert of this kind. The alert names the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), an organisation MI5 says has "very strong ties" to China's Ministry of State Security, Beijing's civilian intelligence service. Key facts MI5 says more than 100 UK-based academics have contributed to projects funde...

Two RAF Tornado GR4s over Iraq in September 2014, at the start of Britain's air campaign against Islamic State. This is a file photograph from the 2014 mission, not the withdrawal. (UK Ministry of Defence, via Wikimedia Commons, Open Government Licence.) Last British Troops Leave Iraq as Decade-Long Anti-IS Mission Ends The last British troops have left Iraq, closing a chapter that began when Islamic State swept across the country in 2014. Around 100 UK personnel withdrew from Irbil in the northern Kurdistan region on Wednesday, departing alongside their American counterparts as the US-led coalition formally ended its military mission in Iraq. The withdrawal marks the end of more than a decade of British military presence in Iraq and of the mission known as Operation Inherent Resolve. Iraq has declared a series of national "Sovereignty Days" to mark the departure. Key facts Around 100 remaining British personnel left Irbil on 30 September 2026, with their exit...

Map of Agricola's campaigns in northern Britain, AD 78-84. By Andjam, CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL via Wikimedia Commons. Nearly 1,940 years ago, a Roman army fought further north in Britain than any force had gone before. On a hillside somewhere in the north east of Scotland, it met the last great army of free Britons and broke it. In AD 83, the governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola led his army against a Caledonian confederacy led, at least in name, by a chief called Calgacus. The Romans won a crushing victory. Then, within a few short years, they walked away from almost everything they had gained. The Battle of Mons Graupius stands as Rome's northernmost battle and as a case study in winning the fight and losing the peace. Key facts Date: AD 83 (a minority of scholars argue for AD 84; the exact year is disputed). Location: north east Scotland. The precise site is unknown; the leading modern candidate is the foot of Bennachie in Aberdeenshire. Roman commander: Gnaeus Julius A...

Nuclear submarine HMS Vanguard arrives back at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, Scotland, following a patrol. Photo: CPOA(Phot) Tam McDonald/MOD, licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0 via Wikimedia Commons (file photograph from 29 November 2010).   Babcock International has agreed a two-month extension to its Future Maritime Support Programme bridging agreement with the Ministry of Defence, keeping the Royal Navy's naval base and nuclear submarine support services running while the two sides finalise a longer-term deal. The defence company announced the extension in a regulatory statement on Wednesday morning, saying it will take effect from 1 October 2026. Key facts Babcock announced a two-month extension to the Future Maritime Support Programme (FMSP) bridging agreement with the UK Ministry of Defence. The extension runs from 1 October 2026. It covers naval base operations and nuclear submarine fleet support services. The bridge buys time while Babcock and the MOD...

Andy Burnham with Emmanuel Macron at 10 Downing Street on 3 September 2026. The prime minister told the BBC on 30 September that rejoining the EU should be among the options Britain considers for its future relationship with the bloc. (File photograph, not from the interview.) Burnham Says Britain Should Weigh EU Options, Including Rejoining Andy Burnham has put rejoining the European Union on the table as a genuine option for Britain's future. Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday morning, the prime minister said the country should weigh up the different models for its long-term relationship with Europe and decide which one offered the best way forward. Then he named them: staying as Britain is, a customs union, the single market, or going all the way back into the bloc. It is the first time since the 2016 referendum that a sitting prime minister has raised rejoin as a live possibility. The remarks came a day after Burnham used his first Labour conference speech as leader to decl...

William Sharp's 1795 engraving after John Opie's painting "Boadicea Haranguing the Britons" - an 18th-century imagining of the queen rallying her people. No contemporary portrait of Boudica survives. Battle of Watling Street: How Rome Crushed Boudica's Revolt Around nineteen hundred years ago, a Roman army of perhaps 10,000 men stood its ground in a narrow valley somewhere in the English Midlands and destroyed one of the largest rebellions Britain has ever seen. The Battle of Watling Street, fought in AD 61 (or possibly AD 60; historians disagree on the year), ended Boudica's revolt in a single afternoon. Three Roman cities lay in ashes behind the rebels. None lay ahead of them. Yet for all its decisiveness, this is a battle wrapped in uncertainty: nobody knows exactly where it was fought, the year itself is disputed, and the casualty figures in the ancient accounts are almost certainly exaggerated. What follows is what we can say with confidence, and wher...