Sunday Herald: Revealed: Ireland blocked Prestwick US bomb flights for Israel - by Torcuil Crichton and Paul Hutcheon

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Revealed: Ireland blocked Prestwick US bomb flights for Israel - by Torcuil Crichton and Paul Hutcheon

Two Israeli-bound cargo planes with US bombs that were expected to refuel at Prestwick Airport last night contained deadly, high-density uranium warheads which represent a serious safety risk to the airport. The arrival of the bomb cargos at Prestwick has caused a storm of protest, with opposition MPs describing the use of the Scottish airport to re-arm the Israeli offensive in Lebanon as “completely unacceptable”.

Anger over the flights was compounded after it emerged that the Irish government refused to allow the US administration to use Shannon Airport for similar shipments to Israel. Dermot Ahern, the Irish foreign affairs minister, said he would block any attempt by the US to transport arms through his country .

The bunker-buster weapons, thought to be GBU28 bombs, are being supplied by the US to Israel in a bid to assassinate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior militia officials who may be hidden in tunnel networks in southern Lebanon. The arrival of the first flight yesterday came less than a day after George Bush apologised to Tony Blair over the previous use of Prestwick Airport to refuel two planes carrying bombs to Israel. Each of the 747 cargo aircraft that were due last night at Prestwick could carry up to 40 two-tonne models of the bunker busters or more than 80 one-tonne models of the laser-guided weapons with high-penetration uranium cores that can drive through rock or reinforced concrete before exploding at up to 5000°C.

A spokeswoman for Ahern told the Sunday Herald: “Minister Ahern did say during the week that permission would not be granted if there was an application made to transport munitions of war to the Middle East.”

In the meantime Whitehall sources confirmed that two more U.S. cargo planes carrying laserguided weapons will be given permission to land on British soil over the next couple of weeks.