ALL protestors entering the region's two US military bases will be treated as "potential terrorists" - and face up to 51 weeks in jail.

A little-noticed clause in the law creating a British "FBI" makes it a criminal offence to trespass at Fylingdales and Menwith Hill, in North Yorkshire.

The change, introduced on Saturday, means protestors can be jailed for up to 51 weeks and be fined up to £5,000, instead of only £500.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) made it clear the crackdown had been introduced because of the danger to armed police of trying to "determine the difference between trespasser and potential terrorist".

But it was immediately condemned by peace campaigners as an attempt to stamp out protests at the bases.

They pointed out a maximum jail term of 52 weeks would have allowed protestors to opt for a crown court trial before a jury, instead of being dealt with by magistrates.

Lindis Percy, of the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases, which stages weekly demonstrations at Menwith Hill, said: "The MoD is really turning the screw on protests.

"It's draconian because it means that someone who puts just one foot over, or through, the perimeter fence will face a huge fine, or even jail.

"These bases were key to the Iraq invasion, they will be key to what happens in Iran and to the missile defence project, or Star Wars."

Fylingdales early warning base, south of Whitby, and Menwith Hill listening station, near Harrogate, are among 13 designated MoD bases where it is now an "absolute offence" to trespass.

The offence is part of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Soca), but was added under secondary legislation and so was not voted on by MPs.

An MoD spokesman said it would apply "within the outer perimeter of the site", an area that would be marked clearly with signs. He added: "It has always been difficult for security forces protecting MoD sites to determine the difference between trespasser and potential terrorist.

"This judgement has to be made in a split second and perhaps at times of limited visibility - this puts both the trespasser and member of the security force at risk."

The only defence would be that the trespasser "did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect" that the site had been designated under the Act, said the spokesman.

Britain has an agreement with the US to co-operate in the development of the so-called "Son of Star Wars" project, but insists there has been no request to install ground-based interceptors at Fylingdales.

Soca is Britain's first non-police law enforcement agency.

Many of its operational staff are former police officers from the National Crime Squad and National Criminal Intelligence Service, which are replaced by the new organisation.

The Soca annual plan, published yesterday, said the agency would aim to spend 40 per cent of its operational effort on drug trafficking, 25 per cent on organised immigration crime, ten per cent on fraud and 15 per cent on other organised crime.

The rest would be spent supporting other law-enforcement agencies to combat other forms of crime.

One of its first tasks will be to build up a more comprehensive intelligence picture about the organised criminal networks operating in the UK.

New powers to help the crackdown have also come into force.

These include regulations to allow criminals to turn Queen's evidence and secure more lenient sentences - or even immunity from prosecution - in return for informing on their crime bosses.

Courts will also be able to give financial reporting orders to offenders, forcing crime bosses to disclose their bank statements for up to 20 years in order to prove they have gone straight.

Soca launched - Page 2