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Torture flights landed in UK, admit air controllers
By Marie Woolf
Political Editor
02/19/06 "The
Independent" -- -- CIA jets suspected of flying
terrorist suspects to secret prisons for torture have landed at
commercial British airports and received help from UK air
traffic control, the authorities have admitted for the first
time.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) confirmed that three planes
with CIA tail numbers have travelled through Britain "on a
number of occasions".
MPs last night seized on the letter as the first formal
acknowledgement that British authorities were aware that CIA
flights associated with "extraordinary rendition" have travelled
through UK airspace.
They said it showed that ministers could no longer claim they
had no knowledge of CIA flights that have been linked to the
policy of sending terrorist suspects for interrogation in
countries that carry out torture.
Nats admitted it had provided a service to the flights after a
number of Parliamentary questions to Transport ministers from
Sir Menzies Campbell, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The letter, written to Sir Menzies following orders from
Transport minister Karen Buck, says that of four aircraft
identified from records as having been used by the CIA, "three
have received an ATC [air traffic control service] from Nats on
a number of occasions in the past five years. We are not
prepared to offer a number because we are not confident that
such a number would be robust."
The planes are part of a ghost fleet of CIA jets that have been
spotted at UK airports since 2001. Nats implies that they have
travelled here frequently and may even have travelled under
different call signs.
It said the flights may also have used airspace controlled by
the Ministry of Defence. Defence ministers have been criticised
for refusing to answer questions put down by Sir Menzies about
how often the CIA jets have landed at military air bases.
Defence minister Adam Ingram said "the information is not
recorded centrally".
But the admission by the civil aviation service that CIA
aircraft have used UK airspace is the first admission that the
authorities and ministers are aware of the flights.
Tony Blair has claimed that he has no knowledge of so-called
torture flights coming in and out of the country, and has
refused to hold an independent public inquiry.
The flights have been associated with the practice of
extraordinary rendition. which involves taking terrorist
suspects to foreign prisons and secret jails in Europe.
Seventy-six planes used by the CIA are believed to have made
stops in Britain since 11 September 2001, at Prestwick, RAF
Northolt, Luton and Glasgow.
Last night, Nick Clegg, a Liberal Democrat foreign affairs
spokesman, said the letter was a significant admission. "It is
significant that a public agency has confirmed the frequency of
these flights through UK airports," he said. "More questions
remain about their destination and what they contained."
© 2006 Independent News and Media Limited
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