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07
Mar
Concerns over US restrictions of Menwith Hill intelligence
Concerns have been raised that military intelligence gathered by the US using technology based in North Yorkshire is not being shared with the UK’s allies.
It comes after President Donald Trump paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine amid a breakdown in relations between the two countries over the invasion by Russia.
RAF Menwith Hill near Harrogate is operated by the US’s National Security Agency.
The base is home to 37 giant radomes, locally known as ‘golf balls’.
Cllr Andy Brown member spoke at a meeting of North Yorkshire Council's Skipton and Ripon area committee to raise concerns about the decision by the US president.
In a question and answer session with Julian Smith, Conservative MP for Skipton and Ripon, the Green Party councillor said:
A lot of us are concerned that the golf balls listening station are receiving information on our soil that is not being shared with our prime allies.
I wonder if you could explore the situation with colleagues who are interested in the defence of the country around how far the information being collected in Yorkshire is actually being used for our allies or whether it is being kept from our allies.
In response, Mr Smith said:
There is an agreement, the Five Eyes Agreement, between the major intelligence sharing countries that includes the UK and the US.
As you aware we have an RAF base which is leased to the US at Menwith Hill, but obviously the activities within that will be within the constraints of national security.
We do have a very strong intelligence link and I’ve got no information or sense that Five Eyes is under threat.
Obviously it’s quite a bumpy political time but I think we need to be confident about our abilities, what we offer and we’ve had a consistent and long-standing intelligence relationship with the United States.
Menwith Hill is one of three main sites operated by the US across the globe as a satellite monitoring station and intelligence gathering location.
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