RAF Feltwell is not what it seems. From outward appearances, it looks like a quiet British base, in the pleasant countryside of Norfolk. Even its three creamy corn-coloured radomes seem innocuous to the casual passer-by, keeping their giant steerable dish aerials hidden from questioning eyes. Its gates are open and there are no control barriers, visible armed sentries, or M.o.D. police on patrol. No cause for alarm ... ?

In actual fact, Feltwell is part of the devious web of lies, misinformation and secrecy, spun and kept in place by the National Security Agency (NSA) of America, and a compliant British government. It is an American base, occupied and controlled by the NSA. and the US Department of Defense. The MoD owns the land, but the U.S. pulls the strings. America even has another name for Feltwell, that can be found on a document entitled "System of NSA. Sigint Locations within the UK". This lesser known name is UK-3. The list has ten names on it - Menwith Hill Station is UK-1 ...

In 1958, RAF Feltwell was chosen as one of four Wing HQs for the Thor Nuclear Missile Programme. Each Wing HQ was responsible for 15 missiles, which were equally divided between themselves, and four other Squadrons at separate local bases. There were 60 missiles in total, given to Britain by America, under the US Mutual Defense Assistance Program. Maintenance of these missiles was the responsibility of the RAF, but the warheads were always under American control. A US Detachment from the Strategic Air Command (SAC) Munitions Support Squadron were located at each of the four Wing HQs and it was they who were responsible for the nuclear warheads, not the RAF These U.S. teams took their orders directly from SAC, via the 7th Air Division HQ at High Wycombe. Britain just owned the land and paid for the construction of the operating bases. In 1966 the Thor missiles were recognised as being obsolete, and were withdrawn from service. The warheads were removed from all of them by the Americans.

In 1983 the MOD published a list of all American bases in Britain. RAF Feltwell was named as a USAF depot and equipment laboratory for Lakenheath (a local USAF base and nuclear weapons store, also masquerading as a RAF base). In March 1983, it was revealed in US Congressional Hearings that Feltwell was also due to have a USAF 500 bed contingency hospital installed during 1986. Not much RAF participation or control so far ...

In 1982/3, we became aware of Feltwell’s NSA involvement, and that the 4th Detachment of the US 6950 Electronic Surveillance Group were stationed there. We also know that the US 5th Space Surveillance Squadron and units of the U.S. 48th Group are presently based there. Feltwell is not an independent base in its own right, but actually an annex of Lakenheath. This would explain why Col. Carter, the American Deputy Commander in control at RAF Lakenheath, gives the orders at RAF Feltwell too. Confusing ? Substitute USAF or NSA for RAF and it becomes much clearer! It is, of course, extremely difficult to find out what goes on at this base, as it is wherever the NSA is involved. We are told it is for our own protection, but in the name of National Security, we must not be allowed to know anything about it. So much for the informed choice ... !

Embracing the age-old tradition of peaceful trespass can be a very powerful way of reclaiming the land and of saying "NO" to the system of power and secrecy behind the fences of these military establishments: a way of raising gently but clearly to the unaccountable authorities, that the things that they are doing are not done in our name: a way of raising and questioning issues of enormous public concern. It is also a method that the previous Tory government would like to prevent, through the introduction of the new criminal offence known as "Aggravated Trepass", in their recent and draconian Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, 1994. Prior to this Act peaceful trespass was a civil matter unless covered by Military Bye-laws. Now it has been criminalised and, on conviction, carries the penalty of up to three months imprisonment or a fine not exceeding £1000, or both!

On Thursday 11th August 1994, Lindis and I decided to register a peaceful and non-violent protest about Feltwell’s use and control by the NSA and its lack of accountability to the British public and Parliament. Lindis has done this many times over the last two years, but I had not had the opportunity to visit Feltwell before.

We drove onto the base slowly, through an open, barrierless, unguarded gate and parked on the edge of a playing field near lots of freight containers and some large brown canvas tents full of rows of stretchers. It was a warm sunny day and we had our picnic and coffee opposite a small brick building with a "Danger - Oxidising Gases" sign on it, while the sounds of Americans playing a ball game wafted from somewhere beyond the tents. Somehow, sitting there openly, sharing a meal on the grass, really did feel like reclaiming the land - an act of normality in the middle of chaos!

After our picnic we got back into the car and drove on towards the radome compound. We slowly crossed some more grass and onto a gravelled track that runs around the perimeter of the alarmed security fence surrounding the radomes. There were notices on the fence saying it was a Restricted Area and that No Unauthorised Persons were allowed within 50 feet of it. (I’d probably not even know there was a notice on the fence from 50 feet, let alone be able to read it!). The grass inside the compound was immaculately short and looked strangely clinical and chilling and the three radomes appeared to sit on low, windowless, corrugated metal buildings, linking to them all together. A HumVee, with two American soldiers, arrived on the inside of the fence and kept pace with us. One of them shouted that we were in a Restricted Area and must leave immediately. We told him not to be worried or alarmed, we were peaceful and non-violent and intended no harm to anyone or anything and we were going anyway. As well as the HumVee, we now had an American "Police" security car shadowing us on the drivers side and another on our tail.

We carried on along the fence, very slowly, turned the corner and saw one flagpole ahead of us, flying the American flag. It was in a small tarmac-ed square, just outside the gates of the radome enclosure and two American soldiers were about to lower it. We stopped the car to wait for them to finish and to wait for the MoD police to escort us out. There was no sign of a Union Jack or RAF ensign, only the Stars and Stripes. A young armed US soldier stood on guard inside the fence, opposite my window, silent and dead-eyed. There were quite a few Americans just inside the gate, including a man in a white T-shirt, who was videoing both of us. When it became obvious that the flag lowering had ground to a halt, Lindis got out of the car and walked over to speak to the soldiers and I half got out to talk to the one guarding the car. We wanted to explain that the last thing we intended to do was to prevent the American flag from being taken down! It is very difficult to have a gentle and meaningful conversation with someone who stares blankly passed your head, but it’s no reason not to try. By now two more US soldiers were photographing us and another was videoing us at extremely close range. They two were silent and dead-eyed and it felt very intrusive and was clearly designed to be intimidating. Several attempts were made to lower the American flag, with and without Lindis’s help, until the ceremony was ordered to be abandoned. Eventually an MoD policeman (MDP) arrived and he and Lindis walked back to the car and we got into it and agreed that we would now leave and he would escort us out.

Leaving Feltwell was a lot more complicated than entering it, however. An American security "police" car parked itself across the front of us and an American HumVee parked itself on the drivers side. Both refused to move despite all three of us asking them to. The MDP assured the Americans that we had commited no crime and were free to leave; we reaffirmed our intention to leave and the Americans stayed where they were and ignored us. Lindis eventually got out of the car and offered to move the HumVee herself, if they wouldn’t and climbed into it. The offer not being taken up, she climbed out and returned to the car saying we were leaving. The MDP continued to try and negotiate our departure with the Americans and told us they had no right to detain us. As far as he was concerned we were free to leave. More US soldiers appeared from somewhere and it began to look as if a plan was in action. The MDP stayed by our car, as Lindis tried to carefully manouver it round the back of the American "police" car and a soldier video-filmed the whole thing, including the space between the two cars, before standing right in front of our bonnet, so we couldn’t move forward without hitting him. We told the Americans that what they were doing was totally unlawful; that they had no power to detain us; that we had agreed with a British MDP that we would leave and that we had actually been trying to do so for some while.

A Lt. Col. Byrd (US Army) and Lt. Col. White (US Airforce) came into view. They seemed to be in charge, with Lt. Col. Byrd giving the orders. The MDP explained to them that we were trying to leave but as far as they were concerned he might just as well not have existed. In this little patch of occupied England, he seemed powerless to uphold our law. Things looked a little better when the soldier in front of our bonnet moved and the American "police" car seemed to be moving out of our way, but it simply reversed a foot or two to block us in more securely.

Lt. Col. Byrd, whose smile never reached his eyes, told us that thet were going to impound our car and we were to get out of it immediately. We said they couldn’t do that and that it was illegal. The MDP said the same. The Lt. Col. said it was a new rule and that there were notices outside the base, warning that this would happen to trespassers in vehicles. We said they had no authority to do this, to which he replied that if we didn’t get out he would instruct his security guards to remove us with minimal force. The MDP told us they had no authority to impound the car and that they had alsready been told this by the MoD, but refused to accept it. He went back to his MoD police car to phone his senior officer about what was happening. Lt. Col. Byrd said if we didn’t get out immediately, his security guards would remove us as soon as they had their protective gloves on. The gloves were a pale coloured rubber and went on very quickly.

The assault, when it came, was swift, violent and seemingly well-practiced. Lt. Col. Byrd forced the slightly open window down and opened the driver’s door. Lindis was grabbed and dragged out of the car by the gloved ones. She managed to throw the car keys, but they flew over the roof and Lt. Col. White walked round and picked them up. I told him through my cloded window that this was a totally unacceptable assault on a peaceful and non-violent woman but he just smiled silently. Lindis had been dragged behind the car, pinned face down on the ground and had her hands cuffed behind her back. Despite her predicament, I could hear her crying out to her American assailants that I couldn’t get out of the car without the wheelchair, crutches or careful help and asked them please not to touch me.

Lt. Col. Byrd came round to my window and I opened it. The driver’s window and door were wide open and the Americans had the car keys, so it seemed rather pointless in keeping it wound up! He asked me to get out of the car. I said no, I could not co-operate with what they were doing - that it was illegal and they were preventing us from leaving after a British MDP had agreed that we should drive out. I leant out of my window and called out to the MDP that the Americans had dragged Lindis out of the car and handcuffed her. Couldn’t he please do something to stop the assault?

Lindis had now been dragged across the grass, some way from the side of the car and was sat on the ground with her hands still cuffed behind her back. She was surrounded by American soldiers and one of them was crouched down behind her, holding the cuffs. Her cardigan was up around her neck and she was still frantically pleading with them not to hurt me.

Lt. Col. Byrd asked if there was a way they could "facilitate my exit from the car more easily". I repeated my refusal and the reasons why. He said he would now instruct his security guards - still gloved - to remove me. As he put his hand out to open the door the MDP who’d been on the phone all this time, came running over to the car and asked Lt. Col. White and Lt. Col. Byrd to have a word with his senior officer on his car phone. To my extreme relief they did! Lindis was on her feet by now, still cuffed and surrounded by soldiers. Lt. Col. Byrd was talking on the car phone and, as I swivelled my eyes between him and Lindis, I realised that the Americans were still videoing both of us.

The Mdp left the Lt. Cols. on the phone and came over to the car. He had Lindis’s keys in his hand. He got into the car, gave me her two haircombs and watch (broken in the assault) and explained that he had finally negotiated a deal with the Americans. He would drive me and the car out of the main gate, and they would then hand Lindis over to us. I thanked him and asked him how he felt. He said he found it very frustrating when the Americans simply ignored him and disregarded the law. He said that what they were doing was quite wrong. He had been completely satisfied when we gave him our word we would leave. He said that Lindis had always kept her word to him in the past and the Americans knew this. He also confirmed that the Americans has no power under British law to impound our car and that they had been told this before. He drove drove us out of the gate and Lindis followed with the two guards, who unlocked her handcuffs once she was outside. She asked the MDP to arrest the two Americans for a breach of the peace but he said he was not allowed to. She then tried to make a citizen’s arrest and hand them over to him but he said he couldn’t - it was out of his hands. From previous experience we know it is also "out of the hands" of the Civil Police.

We believe that the above incident, which is only one of many at Feltwell and various other American bases in this country, raises many questions and issues of public concern. We have written to our Mps and the chief constable of the MDP to try and get some answers but it’s not that simple. Parliamentary questions can be blocked, or receive inaccurate and evasive answers. Ministers can refuse to say anything, due to reasons of "National Securty"", or give sweeping reassurances that need to be challenged. Chief constables can delegate the correspondence to lesser ranks, who withold answers because of the possibility of legal proceedings. Lawyers can experience huge difficulties in taking action against American personnel, who can suddenly be recalled home to America and claim immunity. Then there is the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) 1951 and the Visiting Forces Act 1952 and the "special relationship" between Britain and the US. ....

The violence and level of control shown by the American visiting forces at various supposed RAF bases gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "special relationship". So does the recent report that the US was refusing to pass on any intelligence information to Britain regarding Bosnia, after they pulled out of the UM arms embargo. The tragedy of ex-Yugoslavia and Britain’s slow movement towards Europe are beginning to open up tiny cracks between both countries and put a strain on the NATO alliance.

The MoD cannot be happy that their police officers are being disempowered by US security forces, who actually have no more power than a British citizen when involved with peaceful trespassers. We know that ministerial level meetings are going on between the MoD and the Americans. At one of these recent meetings the videotapes of the Feltwell incident were shown by the Americans and the MoD were apparently horrified. The US does not consider handcuffing (or blindfolding) to be an assult. The MoD, however, know that it is and are fully aware that a British police officer, failing to prevent such an action, could be liable to a three month prison sentence. But the Americans are their clients and they are desperate to keep them happy. For this reason they have been reviewing the Military lands Act Bye-Laws with a view to bringing out new ones. This would once again turn peaceful protest into a criminal offence and be a classic example of a foreign power exerting pressure on the legislative process of a host country. Perhaps the new Criminal Justice and Public Order Act - definately worth challenging - is not considered enough?...

Meanwhile, back at NSA Feltwell in early November, we noticed that there were now two flagpoles outside the radome enclosure. The new flagpole was flying the RAF ensign. It seems the pretence of dual control continues ... and so does our work. So too does the problem of American violence towards peaceful trespassers. There is much to do. Any help or support would be gratefully received.