Human rights activist Craig Murray has claimed a US hedge fund is the real owner of the aircraft and that they are routinely leased out to Israel

The Royal Air Force warplanes defaced by pro-Palestinian activists last month are owned not by the British government but a US hedge fund, prominent human-rights activist Craig Murray has alleged. He added that at least some of the planes appear to be routinely leased out to the Israeli military.

In June, several activists from the group Palestine Action broke into Brize Norton, the UK's largest airbase, and sprayed red paint into the turbines of two Voyager aircraft before fleeing the scene undetected.

The group said the stunt was a protest against the supposed involvement of the Royal Air Force in Israel's military operation in Gaza. The British authorities vowed to prosecute those responsible.

Speaking to RT on Sunday, Murray, who served as British ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 till 2004 and is an associate of WikiLeaks' co-founder Julian Assange, said that he had discovered that the planes in question were owned by Airtanker Ltd, which, in turn, is supposedly "owned by a string of seven fake companies."

According to Murray, behind the cutout entities stands a US hedge fund named Polygon Global Partners LLP, which is the real owner of the planes.

He claimed that the entity "has joint interests with the Trump organization and BlackRock," which has stakes in several military industrial giants.

The former British diplomat told RT that of the 14 planes in question "nine are permanently with the RAF, and five of them are sometimes with the RAF, and sometimes can be leased out to other foreign militaries, including the Israeli military."

"It seems to be fairly definite that the Israelis are using these planes. These planes have been frequently flying to [the RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus] which has been the main military support base for Israeli activities into Gaza," Murray claimed.

He added that officials in London refuse to either confirm or deny that such military missions are carried out in support of Israel.

On top of that, according to Murray, the British "taxpayer is being ripped off" as under the contract with Polygon Global, the UK government is "paying five times the value of these planes." He said the agreement expires in 2049.

In the wake of the vandalism, UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to designate the activist group as a terrorist organization and ban it.

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(RT.com)