Razor wire and CCTV protect the Menwith Hill US Spy Base
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Press Release, 25 October 2026
Campaigners staged a demonstration outside RAF Menwith Hill today, to call for the closure of the largest US spy base in the world outside of the US. Sited in Yorkshire, RAF Menwith Hill is one of the most strategically significant US overseas bases and is at the heart of making the world more dangerous.
Despite heavy rain and wind, there was a jubilant, defiant atmosphere as protestors marched around the perimeter of the base to reach the main gates. Once there, campaigners struck inflatable golf balls as part of a protest stunt. The golf balls represented the base’s radomes, which are large structures that shield giant radars.
These satellite dishes are used by US military personnel to gather intelligence from across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The base has the capability to intercept communications from foreign satellites and monitor wireless communications on the ground like mobile phones and wi-fi traffic.
It is likely that the base has been used to assist with US illegal military operations on Iran. Operatives at the base have also supplied the US intelligence services with information, some of which will be used to help the Israeli Defence Forces target their attacks in Gaza.
RAF Menwith Hill is also part of the US National Missile Defence System, which President Trump now refers to as the ‘Golden Dome’. Its purpose is to carry out ballistic missile detection, tracking and targeting. In doing so, the system is designed to afford the US first-strike nuclear capabilities. This would allow the US to launch a nuclear strike without fear of retaliation. This is only further driving a new, nuclear arms race and increasing the risk of nuclear weapons being used in war.
CND General Secretary Sophie Bolt said:
“This protest comes at an absolutely critical time. The threats of nuclear weapons being used in war has never been higher. The use of RAF Menwith Hill to help the Trump administration achieve nuclear pre-eminence is a very dangerous development, which is driving a new nuclear arms race.
This base has nothing to do with keeping us safe. By allowing the US and Israel to benefit from intelligence gathered at this spy base, the government is helping to facilitate war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
Public opinion is overwhelmingly opposed to allowing Trump to use UK bases to assist with his war crimes. The population are also against US nuclear weapons being sited on UK soil. The government needs to act now, by shutting down RAF Menwith Hill and all UK bases being used to enable Trump’s global war drive and nuclear proliferation.”
Louise Regan, Chair, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said:
“There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that RAF Menwith has been used to provide intelligence to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), and therefore to help target their attacks in Gaza. This means that the government has allowed a spy station based on UK soil to assist with Israel’s mass slaughter of Palestinian civilians. If the government is truly serious about ending its complicity in genocide, then it needs to enact a full embargo on Israel and end all intelligence sharing with the IDF and shut down this base.”
Dave Webb, Chair, Yorkshire CND, said:
“The Menwith Hill spy base is one of the many US bases here in the UK that
involves us in the illegal wars in Gaza, Iran and elsewhere. It is time to
close US bases and send the occupying forces home.”
Hazel Costello, Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign, said:
“At this time of increasing violence and instability throughout the world, it is even more important to bring the real purpose of the Menwith Hill base to the attention of as many people as possible, to encourage them to demand accountability from those operating the base and to work to close it down.”
The protest was called jointly by CND, Yorkshire CND and Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign (MHAC).
See: Original Article
Report – Full House
It was a full house for our public meeting calling to Kick Out Trump’s Spy base!
Protestors battled the elements to demonstrate at RAF Menwith Hill and call for the government to Kick Out Trump’s Spybase!
We struck golfballs that look like the base’s giant radomes which are likely to have given intelligence to assist US and Israeli war crimes. RAF Menwith Hill is one of the many US bases in the UK that has been used to facilitate war crimes in Gaza, Iran and elsewhere.
Menwith Hill plays a central role in the US missile defence system, which is meant to allow Trump to use nuclear weapons without fear of retaliation. It has also been linked to US war crimes in Iran and the genocide in Gaza.
Shut it down! Kick out Trump’s spy base!
