Britain has allowed 170 secret CIA flights connected to the illegal seizure of terror suspects to make stopovers at its airports, a draft European Parliament report claimed. The number is almost 100 more than previously admitted by ministers and will be used by MPs to demand a full parliamentary inquiry into the practice of extraordinary rendition.

The report, by an Italian Socialist MEP, concluded that at least 1,245 CIA flights had flown into European airspace and that Britain was second only to Germany — which allowed 336 — in the number of stopovers. Ten EU countries were named as allowing stopovers.

Giovanni Claudio Fava’s draft report “deplores” the level of co-operation Geoff Hoon, the Europe Minister, gave the MEPs, and condemns the rendition of one British citizen and three British residents, two of whom were said to have been seized on the basis of “partly erroneous information supplied by the UK security service MI5”.

Potentially the most explosive accusation was levelled at Poland, which was said to have allowed the CIA to run a secret detention centre — a so-called “black site — on its soi. Staff from Szymany airport in north-east Poland told of several aircraft landings attended by military vehicles, which were then seen driving to a military training centre. The report concluded that, “in the light of serious circumstantial evidence, a temporary secret detention facility may have been located at the intelligence training centre at Stare Kiejkuty”.

The Polish Government refused last night to add to a statement issued several months ago which denied that it hosted any CIA detainees.

Romania was also accused of possibly hosting a secret CIA detention centre. It also denied a similar accusation in the summer. President Bush admitted in September that 14 suspects had been detained on secret centres abroad, but declined to say where.

The Foreign Office refused to comment directly on the figure of 170 alleged CIA flights, saying only that Britain was a natural refuelling hub for transatlantic flights. A spokesman made a distinction between the number of CIA charters passing through British airspace and flights that contained suspects seized overseas.

The US had asked for permission to transit suspects through Britain only four times. The Government granted permission in just two cases, and the suspects had been put on trial and convicted.

Baroness Ludford, a Liberal Democrat MEP and vice-chairman of the inquiry, said: “Geoff Hoon’s naming and shaming is an indictment of the unhelpful attitude of the British Government, which prefers to leave unanswered the burning questions about its alleged complicity in CIA rendition and torture.

“There must now be a forceful EU response to this strong evidence that the CIA abducted, illegally imprisoned and transported alleged terrorists in Europe while European governments, including the UK, turned a blind eye or actively colluded with the US.”

The Foreign Office said that Mr Hoon had agreed to meet the committee to explain the Government’s policy and had answered all questions put to him.

CIA stopovers

Germany 336
Britain 170
Ireland 147
Portugal 91
Spain 68
Greece 64
Cyprus 57
Italy 46
Romania 21
Poland 11

Source: Draft report by the Temporary Committee of MEPs on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners

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