SEVEN people were arrested at RAF Lakenheath on Saturday during a peaceful protest against suspected plans to return nuclear weapons to the site.

“Why are you protecting a US military base — and weapons there that are going to put us at risk?” one activist asked a police officer moments before his arrest.

Another held a placard reading: “I am not here for protest, I am here to prevent a crime”, before being taken away.

About 250 people gathered for the blockade, some from as far as Japan.

Nuclear weapons were kept at Lakenheath, the United States’ largest air base in Europe, from 1954  until 2008, when they were removed after sustained protests.

However, a 2024 US air force budget put forward the need for “a surety dormitory,” a term used by the US to refer to the capability to “securely” store nuclear weapons.  

Upgrades finished last year enabled the base to accommodate jets capable of carrying nuclear bombs.

Despite mounting concerns from campaigners, British authorities cling to a policy of silence — refusing to confirm or deny nuclear weapons’ presence. 

Last month, CND forced the declassification of a document revealing that US forces are exempt from adhering to British nuclear safety regulations.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament general secretary Sophie Bolt said: “ There’s no public consultation. This is all being done behind closed doors. It’s a complete nuclear cover-up.” 

She also drew attention to the base’s links to Israel’s bloodshed in Gaza.

“We know that since 2021, F-35A fighter jets have been coming to this base. 

“We have US fighter pilots that are stationed at this base. And we know that those fighter pilots and those fighter jets have been deployed in Gaza carrying out the horrific genocidal war for Israel against the Palestinian people.”

Banners and artworks lined Lakenheath’s gates calling for peace.

Among them was an installation by Susie Luger from Bristol consisting of baby vests highlighting Israel’s atrocities against children.

She said it was chilling when she was hanging it to the fence, particularly as F-35 jets were flying overhead at the time.

Lakenheath Alliance for Peace founder Angie Zelter said about 60 organisations had been involved in the two-week peace camp held prior to the blockade.

“It’s really important in these times of collapse, in these times of terrible empirical militarisations all around the world, that we all work together.

“Climate causes war. War causes climate, biodiversity loss, and the amount of oil that is wasted by these planes is horrendous.”

Rajan Naidu, a Quaker and climate campaigner from Birmingham, noted that the public were never consulted about the establishment of US airbases.

“ Democracy has been bypassed and we need democracy back. 

“ We need citizen’s assemblies. We need to make decisions that are at a subsidiary level and feed those to our politicians: that this we don't accept.”