Green Euro-MP up in arms at US military's 'defence' bases on UK soil
02 July 2008
Locating elements of the US military's Missile 'Defence' System at military facilities in the UK amounts to a shocking betrayal of the British public by its leaders, said Dr Caroline Lucas MEP today.
The South East's Green MEP will address a protest rally at the Menwith Hill military facility in Yorkshire tomorrow (Friday 4 July) on the urgent need to achieve full independence from the US on matters where national security and sovereignty risk being undermined.
In 2007, the Government secretively passed through parliament a decision to base communications for the US Missile 'Defence' System at the Menwith Hill RAF site, on the day that MPs were leaving Westminster for the summer holiday.
At the demonstration tomorrow evening, Dr Lucas MEP will say:
"Hosting the American Missile 'Defence' System makes Britain complicit in the US military agenda and places us on the front line of any future US war. It seriously undermines our national security and enfeebles our political leadership.
"Let it be clear that there is nothing 'defensive' about this missile system. It is simply another component of the US strategy to achieve 'Full Spectrum Dominance' - in other words, full military control of land, sea, air and space.
"It will enable the US to attack countries without fear of retaliation. Its development has attracted international controversy, inevitably carrying with it the potential to provoke a brand new global arms race and thus increasing the danger of nuclear weapon use.
"The decision to allow the US to base communications at Menwith Hill was not subject to a vote in Parliament - an outrageous betrayal of public confidence given the huge importance and potential consequences of the missile system."
She will continue:
"The British people deserve to know the truth about covert US military activity on UK soil and concerns must be heeded by our political leaders. Yet, under this Government's Counter Terrorism Bill, crucial civil liberties - such as the right to hold a peaceful protest - are being gradually eroded."
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The peaceful protest at Menwith Hill near Harrogate will take place tomorrow evening between 5pm and 10pm. For more information, please visit the Campaign for the Accountability of American Airbases at www.caab.org.uk Photographs of the demo will be available on Monday.
