 Menwith HIll is run by the US National Security Agency (NSA), operates outside US law and is not accountable in 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 2002 the UK Defence Select Committee expressed 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.'
However even after February 2007 when the then Prime Minister Tony Blair had promised a full debate 'when we have a proposition to put,' it was only five months later that the new Gordon Brown government announced that Menwith Hill would be included in the US Missile Defence system. The government decision, made with no democratic debate, consultation or accountability was announced by the Defence Secretary Des Browne one day prior to the two month long summer closure of Parliament. In response, a number of angry MPs wrote this letter to the press.
In 1996, Britain announced that the European Ground Based Relay station for the Space Based Infra Red System (SPIRS) would be established at the base. SBIRS is another aspect of the Early Warning and tracking system.
|
Campaigns 
