Ministers will meet Swinney on US military use of Prestwick Airport, says Healey

The UK Government will meet with First Minister John Swinney to discuss the use of Prestwick Airport by the US military, the Defence Secretary has said.

John Healey said the airport, in South Ayrshire in the west of Scotland, is not being used for strike operations on Iran.

The US military regularly uses Prestwick Airport – which is owned by the Scottish Government and operated by an arms-length company.

Mr Swinney has been seeking a meeting with the UK Government on the airport, saying he is looking for clarity that US planes transiting there are not being used on offensive operations.

Speaking during a visit in Edinburgh, Mr Healey told the Press Association: “The airport’s a civilian airport.

“It’s owned by the Scottish Government, and it is simply not being used by the US for any of its strike operations on Iran.”

Asked if he would meet Mr Swinney to discuss the issue, he said: “We’ve offered John Swinney a briefing.

“We’ll meet him and discuss that with him.

“But it’s his airport. It’s a civilian airport. It simply is not being used for any of the US strikes into Iran.”

Last weekend, Mr Swinney told SNP members that an independent Scotland would ban the militaries of countries involved in “illegal conflicts”.

The First Minister has also suggested he would “explore” whether to potentially block US forces from using the airport, but says he needs more information to consider the issue.

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.