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.

PM BRANDED INCONSISTENT ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION

The Prime Minister has been branded inconsistent on nuclear non-proliferation after publishing a written statement today (Thursday) on countering proliferation and reducing weapons arsenals while simultaneously preparing to sign-off £2bn in design contracts for Trident replacement in September.

SNP Westminster leader and Defence spokesperson Angus Robertson MP urged Gordon Brown to rule-out imminent commitments on the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system expected to be signed-off during the parliamentary recess.

Mr Robertson said:

“Gordon Brown is totally inconsistent on nuclear arms limitation – he is lecturing the world on non-proliferation while simultaneously planning to pay a two billion deposit on Trident.

“The Prime Minister has even excluded Trident from the Strategic Defence Review as some sacred cow – it is just not credible to exclude a debate on Trident replacement from either that audit or wider international talks on disarmament.

“Any way you look at it - on moral, economic or political grounds - renewal of this nuclear system is untenable.

“Lord Mandelson has admitted Labour plan a decade of public spending cuts, and people will struggle to understand, at a time when budgets are tight across the armed forces and Scotland faces a £500 million budget cut from London , why the UK Government is ploughing billions of pounds into a new generation of unwanted and unnecessary nuclear weapons.

“As we go into the parliamentary recess the Prime Minister must rule out further decisions and spending commitments on the renewal of Trident due to be signed off in the coming months.

“Civil society, trade unions, religious organisations and the Scottish Government are working together to keep a new generation of Trident missiles out of our waters – even military leaders openly question the affordability and rationale of these weapons, and as recent polling shows, the tide has well and truly turned on Trident.”

Don't pre-empt disarmament talks with Trident replacement, says CND

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has welcomed Gordon Brown's comments in support of multilateral nuclear disarmament, made at the G8 summit. But CND cautioned that continuing with Trident replacement was already placing a costly obstacle in the way of achieving the aspirations shared by Mr Brown, President Obama, and other world leaders. CND reiterated the growing call for Trident to be included in the upcoming Defence Review.

Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said "We welcome the many positive developments on reducing nuclear tensions that have been sparked by Obama's meeting with Medvedev. Mr Brown's comments form part of this, but the real test is whether he is prepared to take the steps necessary to ensure Britain's pursuit of Trident replacement doesn't end up damaging the chances of a multilateral deal.

"These next twelve months could be a real turning point for disarmament and non-proliferation, with Obama's Washington summit in March and the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference a month later. In this context it seems perverse that the Government has specifically excluded Trident from its upcoming Defence Review. Voices from across the political spectrum have called for an urgent reassessment of the decision to plough ahead with the £76bn Trident Replacement, not only as budgets come under increasing strain but also given the global push towards full nuclear abolition. CND agrees with the senior armed-forces figures who described Trident as 'militarily useless'. At the very least the Review should be questioning the maintenance of Britain's Cold War posture: we have a nuclear-armed submarine on patrol and ready to fire 365 days a year, regardless of international tensions. It is a disgrace that Gordon Brown is set to release billions for new submarines during the Parliamentary recess this September, against the recommendations of the Foreign Affairs Committee and 160 back-benchers [notes 3 and 4], whilst at the same time ignoring the chance to review the need for the system.

"The Prime Minister is also mistaken when he says 'the whole point of the Non-Proliferation Treaty is that those people who have weapons will be willing to reduce them as far as is possible' - the UK's binding legal commitment under article VI of the NPT is to undertake complete nuclear disarmament, not merely reductions to a lower level [see note 5]. If Britain is serious about convincing Iran and others to buy-in to the NPT, we must not make false claims about our own end of the bargain. Iran has already cited Trident replacement as a major point of concern during NPT negotiations [see note 6]. Britain should not allow a hugely expensive relic of the Cold War to become the sticking point which prevents defusing the crisis that could spark the next major conflict. We don't need it, we can't afford it and we can contribute better to a more peaceful world by scrapping it now."