Surveillance, Secrecy and Sovereignty : How a Peace Campaign Challenged the Activities of a US Base in Britain

This book is based on the activities of twenty years of campaigning by the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) in Britain, with particular emphasis on the base at Menwith Hill in North Yorkshire.

It discusses the range of methods of peaceful protest used by the campaigners with particular attention to their challenges through the courts.  The book then explores the range of issues raised by the campaign, which are of particular relevance today.

In particular it examines the use of the base for US military Intelligence gathering and the lack of effective parliamentary oversight of its functions, with the subsequent deficit in democratic accountability.

It also examines in detail the important challenges through the courts employed by the campaigners, what they revealed about the methods used by police and courts in responding to peaceful, lawful protest, and the implications for civil liberties in Britain today.

Professor Paul Rogers said of this book, 'Since CAAB was established twenty years ago we have seen...a remarkably increased capacity for those in authority to monitor the activities of civil society, not least of campaigners. At anytime this thoughtful and carefully researched book would have been a very valuable contribution but that last aspect makes it especially salient'