24 June2004: The operator of the Stockport-based site has removed it today due to public and press furor. The operator asked Cryptome to remove the link to the site from this file and another long-standing link to it from Cryptome's Eyeball series index.
The site operator was told several times in recent days by the UK D-Notice Committee that nothing on the site was illegal but today the Committee agreed that it was best to close the site. To assure continuing access to the withdrawn information Cryptome has mirrored the site without approval of the site originator:
http://cryptome.org/uk-nonsecrets/secret.htm
24 June 2004. Thanks to G.
Gloucestershire Echo : 24.06.04
Defence expert Tony Mason has hit out at military enthusiasts for revealing secret information about GCHQ on the internet.
The Cheltenham-based Air Vice Marshal spoke out after security experts expressed fears that Army fans may have inadvertently breached the Official Secrets Act. One Stockport-based site includes extensive photographs of the past and present GCHQ buildings in Cheltenham, and also reveals an SAS training area in Herefordshire.
The high-security military communications base at Defford, Worcestershire, is also subject to scrutiny.
The details and photos have been published on unofficial websites.
Mr Mason advises the House of Commons defence committee and holds a fellowship at the University of Birmingham.
He said the information revealed could be of immeasurable help to would-be terrorists.
A search of the web reveals numerous sites featuring satellite photographs of bases and information about their uses.
Under the headline Secret Bases Revealed! the site details tell-tale signs to look for when spotting clandestine military locations.
Mr Mason said the websites represented a potentially serious threat to military installations in the UK.
"It is difficult to see what kind of rationale or ideology could lead any individual to publish this kind of information on the internet. It's totally irresponsible," he said.
Mr Mason added spies had died during the Cold War to get the kind of information being revealed.
"Yet now, in a time where terrorism and a need for tightened security is even more prevalent, we seem to be happy to hand over this kind of information on a plate," he said.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said there are no secret bases being operated in the UK.
"However, there will be elements within the MoD that, for operational reasons, are classified," he said.
"Security at all our military installations is always of paramount importance."