Trident replacement pause is 'excellent news' says CND

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament warmly welcomed the suggestion that the Government is to delay the 'Initial Gate' decision on replacing the Trident nuclear weapons submarines, pending the outcome of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in May 2010. Previously, the Government planned to move on to the next stage of the replacement process during the Parliamentary recess in September.

Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said:
"This delay is excellent news. We hope the Government will not only make a major contribution to advancing plans for global disarmament at the forthcoming international talks, but also use this pause to reconsider Britain's possession of nuclear weapons. Given the worsening economic climate, defence cuts will be necessary, but scrapping Trident would be positively beneficial to reducing global tensions.

"The current defence review and the Strategic Defence Review to be held after the next election are excellent opportunities to conclude that the challenges of the coming century cannot be met by costly Cold War weapons systems like Trident. We hope Ministers are brave enough to share the conclusion of the Generals who recently described Trident as 'militarily useless'.

"We hope this is the first sign that the Government is really prepared to respond to the changed mood not just from leaders like President Obama, but also from the British public. Recent polls show a majority oppose the UK's continued possession of nuclear weapons. This will be a vote winner for whichever party chooses to free itself - and Britain - from the dogma of the past. We are a world away from the tense world of the 1980s - the public recognises this, but now politics needs to catch up."

Earlier today over 30 MPs wrote to the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary demanding exactly such a delay to the Initial Gate. They called for Parliament to have further discussions on Trident replacement before such a major spending commitment is given. CND believes that it is essential that such a debate takes place before the next stage of the project commences, whenever that occurs.

The Initial Gate decision, which would allow detailed design work to commence, is estimated to commit £2-3bn. The procurement costs for the new submarines are likely to be in the order of £25bn, with total costs of £76bn for the project when running costs are included.

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."

CND calls 'No to US Missile Defence' demo at Fylingdales radar this Saturday

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has called a march to the gates of Fylingdales radar station this Saturday 13th June, to protest against British involvement in US Missile Defence.

Demonstrators will meet at Ellerbeck, around a mile away from the main gates of the base near Whitby in North Yorkshire to hear speeches from Labour MP Fabian Hamilton, Yorkshire Green candidate in the recent European elections Martin Hemingway, and direct action activists Lindis Percy and Sylvia Boyes.

Those attending will also hear from Czech activist Jana Glivicka, who has been a leading figure in the campaigns against the proposed US Missile Defence radar near Prague. The new interim Czech government has agreed not to seek ratification of the treaties agreed with the US by its predecessor and has begun removing the razor-wire fence from the proposed site of the base.

After the rally, those attending will march up the road to the gates of Fylingdales to protest at Britain's involvement in US Missile Defence, where they will present a letter to the base commander Wing Commander Greg Hammond.

The demonstration comes following a new opinion poll released by CND today which shows the strength of opposition in Britain to the European deployment of US Missile Defence (see note 3). The poll shows almost three fifths (58%) of people agree that the siting of components of the US Missile Defence system in the UK and Europe will increase international tension between the US and Russia and, as a result, increase the threat to UK and European security, compared to less than 1 in 5 (19%) who disagree. A further question showed over half (53%) of the public agree that the Obama administration should cancel the plans for the bases in Europe, compared to only 1 in 5 (20% exactly) who disagree. The opinion poll results correspond with those of similar polls conducted in Poland and the Czech Republic (see note 4).

Quotes

Kate Hudson, CND Chair said: "This poll shows that people in Britain feel exactly the same as people in Poland, the Czech Republic and across Europe. They do not support US Missile Defence bases in Britain or elsewhere in Europe - bases which are destabilising US and European relations with Russia and make us the front line in any future conflict. Gordon Brown would benefit from showing some real leadership by announcing plans to close the missile defence bases in Yorkshire and by urging Barack Obama to abandon US Missile Defence altogether."

Jana Glivicka, from Ne Zakladnam (No to Bases) in the Czech Republic, said: "CND has worked closely with Ne Zakladnam since the very beginning of our campaign so I'm pleased to come and talk about our work over the past three years. Demonstrations and other forms of public pressure have led to the withdrawal of the radar agreements from the Czech Parliament and finally to the fall of the pro-radar government. The developments for us are positive, but we need a strong international movement to win the fight and I will be here to show the support of the Czech campaign for this demonstration."