PRESS RELEASE

29 January 2003

U.K. Defense Committee gives green light to radar upgrade for U.S. missile defense

An influential British Parliamentary committee in its report released today concluded that “the U.K. should agree to the upgrade” of a U.S. early warning radar on British soil for use in the U.S. missile defense system.

The British base at Fylingdales is one of four U.S. Ballistic Missile Early Warning System stations. The upgrade would allow information that the radar already captures to be used to track missiles more accurately so that interceptors in the United States or on board U.S. warships could be targeted at them.

The House of Commons Defense Committee, headed by Bruce George, MP, a member of the governing Labor Party, also largely agreed with the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s assessment of the growing threat from ballistic missile proliferation.  The report acknowledges that an upgrade to Fylingdales may draw the U.K. into active participation in deployed missile defense systems and, perhaps somewhat optimistically, hopes for UK industrial participation and benefit. However, the report also questioned whether the overall missile defense system would work.

While supporting the rationale for the upgrading of Fylingdales, the report is also extremely critical of the Governments consultation process, and pulls no punches in stating how badly it has been treated: “The Committee strongly regret the way in which the issue has been handled by the Government."

The Committee was rushed into announcing its inquiry on December 18 by the release of the formal request from Defense Secretary Rumsfeld just a day earlier. It has had insufficient time to complete its work and has had to rush again to publication in anticipation of a formal UK response by the end of January. The Committee also noted that the Ministry of Defense “has shown no respect for either the views of those affected locally by the decision or for the arguments of those opposed to the upgrade in principle.” The Committee does note that it “will also wish to follow up those matters relating to the upgrade of RAF Fylingdales which could not be addressed fully in this report.”

“Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon has treated the Committee with a degree of contempt on this matter. He gave it very little opportunity to gather a range of opinion over a holiday period and announced to the House of Commons that he was minded to accede to the request just hours before giving oral evidence before them on January 15,” said BASIC Director Dr Ian Davis.

Further  comment and interviews with Dr Ian Davis can be arranged by calling the Washington office: 202 347 8340 ext 101

A copy of the Defence Committee’s Report is at: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmdfence/290-i/29002.htm

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