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London (AFP) Jul 28, 2006 US requests to send two more planes carrying bombs and missiles to Israel via Britain in the next fortnight are likely to be approved, newspapers reported Friday. The reports follow criticism by British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett of alleged stopovers in Scotland of US planes carrying munitions for Israel. The Daily Telegraph had said two chartered Airbus A310 cargo planes laden with GBU-28 bombs landed at Glasgow Prestwick Airport over the weekend for refuelling and crew rest on the way to Israel. Two more planes will land at Prestwick in the next couple weeks, according to The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, citing unnamed government sources, and The Times, quoting unnamed Downing Street sources. The Daily Mail called it an "embarrassing U-turn". Beckett, who claimed she was "not happy", said she had raised the initial report with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and would issue a formal complaint to Washington if it was found to be true. The planes that landed at Prestwick had been designated "civilian flights" and US officials had failed to notify British authorities of their hazardous contents, The Times said. It said that the diplomatic row was more about procedure than principle, and quoted an unnamed senior government official saying flights through Prestwick "will be allowed to continue". "It is a right we have always granted." The White House, too, has dismissed British concerns about the allegations, with spokesman Tony Snow on Thursday calling it "a paperwork question". The report came as British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared to fly to the United States on Friday for a five-day trip. He is not expected to raise the issue with US President George W. Bush, The Times reported. Prestwick has in recent months also been the subject of claims that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) used it for so-called "extraordinary rendition" flights to transport security suspects to third countries where torture may be used. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Nuclear Space Technology at Space-Travel.com
![]() ![]() At least six rebels died and eight people were wounded when Sri Lankan warplanes attacked a Tamil Tiger camp, a rebel leader said Friday as both sides traded artillery fire. |
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