RAF Fairford

HC Deb 06 March 2003 vol 400 c1163W

Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the operational status is of RAF Fairford. [101172]

Mr. Ingram

RAF Fairford is a NATO designated standby base made available to the United States Visiting Force. We have recently agreed to a US request to deploy 14 B-52 aircraft to RAF Fairford as part of our contingency planning designed to maintain the flexibility of our military options. The deployment does not represent a decision to take military action.

The use of United Kingdom bases, including RAF Fairford, by US forces for combat operations against Iraq would be a matter for joint decision by the UK and US Governments at the appropriate time.