Menwith Hill is run by the US National Security Agency (NSA), operates outside US law and is not accountable under British law. It is part of a global network of bases used to spy on all forms of international telecommunications - including private phone calls, emails and faxes - and is crucial for the intelligence-gathering necessary for any US-led military attack.
In 1996, Britain announced that the European Ground Based Relay station for the Space Based Infra Red System (SBIRS) would be established at the base. SBIRS is another aspect of the Early Warning and tracking system and building for it has begun.
In 2002 the UK Defence Select Committee expressed its concern that Menwith Hill would be used for US Missile Defence without permission. The then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon assured them that it was for early warning only and would be handled 'entirely separately from missile defence.'
In early 2007 the then Prime Minister Tony Blair promised a full debate 'when we have a proposition to put,' regarding UK involvement in the US missile defence system. Yet, just a day before parliament closed for summer that year, and without democratic debate, consultation or accountability the government announced that Menwith Hill would become part of the US Missile Defence system. This angered a number of MPs whose letter to the press called for a full parliamentary discussion. This has never happened.