Burnham must stop Trump’s troops using Prestwick and UK airbases
Andy Burnham must stand up to Donald Trump and stop US forces from using Prestwick and UK military bases for their continued assault on Iran, say the Scottish Greens.
The party has condemned the new Prime Minister’s reported decision to continue allowing US forces to use British bases for attacks on Iran and demanded an immediate end to all practical support for US military operations in Iran.
Earlier this year, media reports showed large spikes in US military flights from publicly owned Prestwick Airport. The Greens subsequently pressured the Scottish Government to call for the flights to be grounded, but were overruled by Westminster.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay MSP said:
“The US has renewed its air strikes on Iran, continuing a disastrous and dangerous war. At a time when the risks of further escalation are so clear, the new Prime Minister must draw a line.
“Andy Burnham needs to move on from the failed approach of Keir Starmer, who bent over backwards for Donald Trump and allowed Prestwick and UK airbases to be used in support of his reckless and illegal assaults in the Middle East.
“Our airports should not be used as staging posts for US wars that make us all less safe and risk dragging us into a wider conflict.
“Donald Trump is a dangerous warmonger who has shown contempt for international law and human rights. Keir Starmer chose to embrace him and support his actions. Andy Burnham faces a choice, will he stand up to Donald Trump or will he make the same mistakes again.”
“The Scottish Greens will not sit back and let Scotland be made complicit in Trump’s unlawful war of aggression against Iran.”
This comes as the UK Government last week announced £15bn of public money to be spent on the Faslane naval base, housing the UK's nuclear weapons on the Clyde.
The Scottish Greens have said Burnham promised a new relationship with Scotland, but his opening days have delivered the same old pattern: decisions imposed from Westminster, Scotland’s choices dismissed and its right to determine its own future denied.
Gillian added:
“Wes Streeting’s appointment as Defence Secretary only reinforces that this is politics as usual. After flirting with the Labour leadership and then clearing Burnham's path to Number 10, Streeting has been rewarded with one of the biggest jobs in government.
“His continued support for nuclear weapons shows the same contempt for Scotland. We do not want these weapons of mass killing on the Clyde and nor does our parliament.
“They put a target on our back and are designed to kill indiscriminately. If they were ever used again, it would inflict destruction on an even more terrifying scale than Hiroshima.!