Brown 'stuck in Cold War rut' on Trident; MPs demand new debate

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has today condemned Gordon Brown's promotion and funding of a global explosion of nuclear power production as 'the slow poison route to global destruction', which will make nuclear weapons proliferation more - not less - likely. CND deplores the Prime Minister's failure to address any of the current concerns about Trident and its replacement, in spite of extensive public concern and rethinking from across the political spectrum. Today over 30 MPs have written to the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary demanding that parliament has further discussion on Trident replacement before a government decision to advance to the next stage.3 Currently the government plans to take this decision during the Parliamentary recess.

Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: "This is a time of unprecedented popular opposition to, and widespread political concern about, Britain's nuclear weapons. It is outrageous that the Prime Minister has chosen to ignore these concerns and stick unquestioningly to the Cold War white elephant Trident. Instead he is promoting and funding - with British taxpayers' money - a global explosion of nuclear power that amounts to the slow poison route to global destruction.

"There are repeated calls - from all parts of the political spectrum - for a new debate on Trident replacement, and there is a clear demand that Trident should be included in the forthcoming defence review. Instead the government plans to progress to the next stage of the replacement process during the parliamentary recess. Mr Brown, who is clearly stuck in a Cold War rut, is ignoring the advice of the Foreign Affairs Committee which has demanded just such a debate, along with many MPs drawn from all parties.

"We welcome the MPs' letter today, to the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary, calling for parliamentary scrutiny and debate before a government decision to progress to the next stage of Trident replacement. This issue is too important to be decided behind closed doors."