A PUBLIC meeting called to discuss the role of a North Yorkshire radar base in the controversial Son Of Star Wars scheme has been cancelled because of the war in Iraq.

Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram was due to meet local people on Thursday about upgrading RAF Fylingdales as part of the US national missile defence project.

But the meeting has been called off and will not take place until sometime in June.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon agreed the need for a public discussion in February.

There have been calls for the June meeting to be properly publicised.

Goathland resident Jackie Fearnley, from Fylingdales Action Network, said it was essential members of the public were informed of the meeting - and kept up to date with what was happening.

"There's absolutely no point in having a public meeting if you don't do the initial work and let everyone know," she said.

"They should be setting another date - it may be too easy for them to forget about this now."

County Councillor Murray Naylor said the Minister's office had only recently cancelled the meeting, three weeks after letters confirming it were sent to councillors.

He was glad the talks had been postponed, because the meeting could have turned into a forum for discussion about the war in Iraq, when the issues to be discussed were centred on RAF Fylingdales and the national missile defence scheme.

Updated: 10:33 Tuesday, April 08, 2003