CIA TORTURE JET LANDS AT PRESTWICK; SPOOKS' PLANE IN SCOTLAND.

Byline: CHARLES LAVERY

A PRIVATE plane linked to CIA torture flights landed at Prestwick Airport at least twice last month, the Sunday Mail can reveal today.

The Gulfstream - jet-tail number N478GS - touched down at the airport on October 6 and 30.

It has been identified as one used in extraordinary rendition - the movement of terror suspects from Afghanistan by the US Central Intelligence Agency.

The spooks ferry prisoners around the world to be illegally tortured at secret camps in countries where such brutal techniques are not outlawed.

The Gulfstream was pictured by plane-spotters on the tarmac at the airport despite moves to outlaw rendition planes on British soil.

Spotters also snapped the plane - identified by the European Parliament as previously being used in torture flights - at Prestwick on 19 February.

The Sunday Mail can reveal it also touched down at Glasgow Airport on June 11 last year.

Last night Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said he had asked police and prosecutors to investigate whether rendition flights had illegally landed in Scotland.

He said: "I have made it clear that the Scottish Government opposes illegal flights of rendition.

"While civil aviation is reserved to the UK Government, attempts to commit torture is an offence under Scots Law and, consequently, Scotland's police forces could investigate allegations of such crimes occurring.

"It would then be a matter for the Procurator Fiscal to decide whether or not to begin proceedings.

"If the European Parliament or any other organisations have any new evidence then I would encourage them to make it available."

Details of the jet's activities come weeks after it was revealed it had landed in Birmingham.

It landed on 2 October and was met by two army air corps Dauphin 2 helicopters used by the SAS at Hereford. The MoD denied the flight had been involved in rendition and said the incident was a "routine military liaison". The 22-seat plane is registered to Centurion Air Services and was involved in an accident at Bucharest airport in Romania in 2004 after a flight from Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.

The seven armed Americans on board disappeared before police arrived. A report later stated: "There were seven passengers who disappeared quickly after the accident. One of them was carrying a gun."

Yesterday a spokesman for human rights group Amnesty said it was impossible to prove whether the flight was still being used for rendition.

He said: "We believe this jet has been used for rendition in the past but it is leased to the CIA among other customers so there are other possible reasons."

Prestwick refused to comment on the two flights.

Over 156 US warplanes, including aircraft linked to military intelligence, have landed at Prestwick airport since the controversy over rendition flights began.

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

Suspects: Rendition jet has been spotted at Prestwick Amnesty are battling to outlaw rendition flights like those linked to Prestwick, above Suspects: Rendition jet has been spotted at Prestwick