"Full force of the law" for those behind RAF Mildenhall drones

Fears have been voiced that drones being flown over the region's US air bases, including RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell, Norfolk, with reports beginning on Wednesday, November 20. 

During a debate on UK Air and Missile Defences on Wednesday morning, Maria Eagle, minister for defence procurement and industry, reassured ministers that those responsible will be "shown the full force of the law" for their "illegal activities".

Ms Eagle said: "Protection of our personnel and bases is our highest priority. We employ multi-layered and credible force protection measures."

She continued: "The House will be aware that through the Civil Aviation Authority, aerodromes in the UK are protected under the Air Navigation Order 2016 by uncrewed air system flight restriction zones.

Maria Eagle (Image: UK Parliament) "We will be making sure that anybody we manage to catch engaging in such behaviour is shown the full force of the law for their illegal activities."

She added that, although that was all she could say at that time, the matter was being dealt with "fully". 

Her statement came after she was pressed on the issue by Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, and James Cartlidge, MP for South Suffolk. 

Mr Timothy said: "Two airbases in my constituency of West Suffolk, Lakenheath and Mildenhall, were recently targeted by drones; residents were concerned to hear aircraft being scrambled in the middle of the night to intercept them at the weekend.

"When the Minister responds, I would be grateful if she could give us a clear account of what happened and what the response is likely to be if that continues." 

Nick Timothy (Image: Newsquest) And Mr Cartlidge said he "echoed" the comments made by Mr Timothy and called for an update on the drones and what was being done to stop them. 

A spokesperson for the US military said on Tuesday: “We can confirm there were sightings yesterday during night-time hours and can only confirm that the number fluctuated and varied between the bases over the night.

“Since November 20, there has been no impact to residents or infrastructure and they have not been identified as hostile.

“However, they are still continuously being monitored to ensure the safety and security of the installations.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites.

“We are supporting the US Air Force response.”