The All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones goes to the Information Tribunal on Monday 30th October seeking information about the planned massive expansion of a United States military and intelligence base at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire. The base has long been suspected to lie at the heart of the United States global network of drones carrying out targeted killings. The programme is highly controversial in human rights and international law terms. It was expanded under President Obama, setting a dangerous precedent adopted by President Trump.
The APPG on Drones seeks a “Host Nation Notification” (“HNN”) dated 7 January 2015 sent to the Secretary of State for Defence by the United States Department of Defense (“DOD”), and the response of the Secretary of State of the same date. It is believed that this will contain important further information regarding the plans and uses of the base and will shed some light onto the relationship between the U.S. and UK in relation to U.S. bases on UK soil.
The APPG on Drones states that HNN documents have been published by other countries before, and there is every reason to adopt that approach here, given the high public concern regarding drone warfare and the U.S. government programme in particular.
The case will be heard in the First Tier Tribunal at 11am on 30-31 October 2017.
Daniel Carey, from Deighton Pierce Glynn who are representing the APPG pro bono said: “The MoD refused to disclose information about U.S. activities on UK soil citing the sensitivities of that relationship without checking with the U.S. authorities first and despite the obvious public interest in ensuring that the U.S. is not prosecuting an illegal drone warfare campaign from UK soil. The APPG on Drones strives hard to increase transparency around these issues and hopes that the Information Tribunal will agree with them and order disclosure of the documentation.”
For further information please contact:
Harriet Hoffler, Coordinator All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones
hofflerh@parliament.uk
