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Row over allowing ‘Trump to control space from Pembrokeshire’ reaches the Senedd

PLANS to build space radar dishes that would allow US President Donald Trump “to militarily dominate all of space” from Wales have taken a step towards a national debate.

Peace campaigners have teamed up with Plaid Cymru to stop the Westminster government’s plans to build 27 radar dishes close to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell MS has tabled a statement of opinion, Wales’s equivalent of an early day motion, opposing the proposals for the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability, known as Darc, installation at Cawdor Barracks, Brawdy.

Campaign group PARC Against Darc, which worked with Cefin Campbell and other MSs to draft the motion, has warned that the proposals would give Mr Trump and the US “the ability to militarily dominate all of space from Pembrokeshire and two other proposed sites located in Australia and the US.”

A spokesperson said that its successful campaign to see off “very similar” plans in the ’90s “became an issue of national and international importance which was debated in UK Parliament and subsequently cancelled very publicly by the then Conservative government.

“We fully expect the Darc radar proposal to receive the same level of national scrutiny this time round and we believe it’s only a matter of time before decision makers are forced to U-turn on this very unpopular proposal.”

Wales Secretary Jo Stevens has backed the development, saying it will secure jobs.

Defence Secretary John Healey has claimed that Darc will “enhance our awareness of deep space” and “help protect our space assets alongside our closest partners.”

A planning application for Darc is expected this year.

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