US 'torture jet' flies from UK

An aircraft used by the CIA to illegally abduct terrorist suspects has frequently operated from two British RAF bases.

The Gulfstream jet has flown from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire at least twice and RAF Northolt at least six times since October 2002, according to Chris Yates, aviation security editor for the authoritative Jane's Information Group.

Mr Yates and opposition MPs say there is "no way" that the purpose of the flights could have been unknown to the British authorities.

"There is absolutely no doubt about the accuracy of the data," said Mr Yates. "What it tells me is that the UK government is probably complicit in what was going on in terms of the disappearance of people."

The movements of the Gulfstream have been tracked for a Channel 4 documentary on "extraordinary rendition", where US snatch squads seize alleged terrorists and fly them to countries where they are tortured for information.

Human rights activists say this is a way round the bans on torture in place in the West, and is illegal under international law.

The Ministry of Defence was unable to say what the jet was doing at the two RAF bases.