FRESH allegations that the US is seeking the go-ahead to base its "Son of Star Wars" missiles in the region have been denied by the Ministry of

Defence.

British officials in Washington have told The Times newspaper that "discreet inquiries" were being made to find out if the Government would accept ground-based interceptors on British soil.

The missiles - designed to knock out nuclear warheads before they reached the US - would almost certainly be sited at Fylingdales early warning system, on the North York Moors. The base, south of Whitby, is already being upgraded to help the Pentagon track incoming ballistic missiles, as part of an agreement to co-operate in research and testing.

But, with anti-American feeling growing in Britain, the Bush administration was expected to ask Poland or the Czech Republic to accept the missiles.

According to The Times, opposition within those two countries is now forcing the Pentagon to trun its attention back to Britain - and North Yorkshire.

Inquiries have been made at a "sub-ministerial" level by American defence planners, the newspaper reported.

A British source said: "A few weeks ago, it looked like we were out of the woods on this one. That has changed, because central Europe has forced the Pentagon to look again at Britain."

The claim will alarm opponents of the missiles project in North Yorkshire, who fear the area would become a target for America's enemies and a magnet for terrorists.

Although the host country would be helping to protect the US, it would receive no protection from the shield, they have argued.

However, an MoD spokesman insisted there had been no request from the US for Britain to host the missiles. Furthermore, were such a request to be received, parliament would be notified because the issues would be of great public interest.

The spokesman added: "No request has been made by the US, beyond the 2003 request to upgrade the Fylingdales radar. The US is looking at the Czech Republic or Poland, as far as we are aware."

Earlier this year, The Northern Echo revealed that a little-noticed clause in the law creating a British "FBI" made it a criminal offence to trespass at Fylingdales and other US bases. All protestors entering the bases will now be treated as "potential terrorists" and can be jailed for up to 51 weeks.