THE Ministry of Defence has been accused of flouting guidelines over the planned use of RAF Fylingdales, North Yorkshire, in the US Son of Star Wars programme.

The Council for National Parks has accused military chiefs of being hasty in allowing the US to use the early warning base as part of its missile defence programme.

The group claims the MoD has yet to complete essential environmental research into the possible effects of the proposed changes at Fylingdales.

Their military specialist, Tom Oliver, said: "The House of Commons' defence committee published a report last week into how the MoD had handled the USA's proposals for missile defence and roundly condemned the MoD for its lack of public consultation."

He said Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon had promised a public and parliamentary discussion on the issue, but had then agreed to the US request when the public discussion had hardly begun.

"The Government has good rules for consulting the public and appraising the environmental impact of major projects," he said. "The MoD said it would follow them, and then ignored them. The MoD should provide an immediate and full explanation as to why it has flouted National Park guidelines."