'No Time To Die': Bond crew causes evacuation of RAF air base

Ben Arnold
·Contributor
Updated
Daniel Craig in Spectre (Credit: Sony Pictures)
Daniel Craig in Spectre (Credit: Sony Pictures)

As many as 400 people were evacuated from the UK's largest air base after a van thought to have been used by the latest Bond movie was left behind.

The evacuation at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire happened on Tuesday, according to The Sun, while bomb dogs inspected the abandoned vehicle.

It's said that the van was being used by the production of the new movie No Time To Die during scenes shot at the base last week.

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But after it was left on the site, it was discovered days later with lapsed security passes, which meant it was quickly cordoned off.

A spokesperson for the RAF confirmed: “The RAF can confirm that a vehicle with a lapsed pass was identified at RAF Brize Norton last night.

“To ensure the safety of our people a cordon was set up and a number of personnel were moved. Subsequently, the vehicle was checked & identified and as it posed no threat, all personnel were returned to their accommodation.”

OXFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM. OCTOBER 2018. An aerial photograph of RAF Brize Norton on October 7th 2018. This old Second World War, Royal Air Force base dates back to 1935, it is located on the eastern side of the Cotswolds 13 miles west of the city of Oxford. Aerial Photograph by David Goddard/Getty Images)
An aerial photograph of RAF Brize Norton (Credit: David Goddard/Getty Images)

A source added to the paper: “They were filming parts of the Bond film here last week and some of the crew used the sergeant’s mess for lunch.

“Everything was packed up on Friday but amazingly one of the vans was left behind outside the mess. I don’t know if it was the film company or the hire company, but someone reported the van.

“Sniffer dogs from a bomb disposal unit were sent in to investigate immediately. A 300 metre cordon was put in place while it was assessed by bomb disposal teams. It is an unbelievable blunder to have caused such a massive security risk.”

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Personnel and families living on the base were reportedly not allowed back inside the cordon until midnight.

The movie has been beset with incident since it began shooting in April last year.

007 star Daniel Craig injured his ankle shooting scenes in Jamaica, requiring surgery and causing delays to production, while a controlled explosion at Pinewood Studios went awry in May, injuring a member of the crew.

The movie, also starring Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Lea Seydoux, Jeffrey Wright and Lashana Lynch, is due out on 3 April, 2020.