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Nick Harvey says Ministry of Defence cannot afford new Trident fleet and everything else needed by armed forces Plans to spend billions of pounds on a like-for-like replacement of Britain’s Trident nuclear submarine fleet are based on “outdated and ludicrous” ideas about deterrence, a former armed forces minister has warned.
David Cameron renews call for Trident replacement by saying a deterrent system is ‘best insurance against nuclear blackmail’ David Cameron said on Thursday that Britain would be foolish to abandon an independent nuclear deterrent on the scale of Trident, pointing to the threat posed by North Korea, and other unstable regimes. Cameron made his remarks (video)after visiting submarine HMS Victorious, one of the vessels that carry the Trident missile, as it returned from its 100th patrol – though his warning that North Korea posed a direct threat to Britain was later challenged by senior defence figures. The prime minister’s renewed backing for a like-for-like replacement for Trident appeared to be aimed at the Lib Dems and the Scottish nationalists.
David Cameron says scrapping nuclear deterrent would be foolish in face of ‘evolving threats’ from North Korea and Iran The prime minister has stressed the need for the UK to retain its Trident nuclear deterrent, saying it would be “foolish to leave Britain defenceless” in the face of the growing threat posed by North Korea and Iran. David Cameron’s insistence on the need for an independent nuclear deterrent came as the US said it was moving an advanced missile system to the Pacific island of Guam as Pyongyang continued to ratchet up the rhetoric against South Korea and its American ally. Writing in Thursday’s Daily Telegraph , the prime minister said such “evolving threats” underlined the need for the UK to maintain the ultimate deterrent.
Ed Miliband’s calls for Trident to be scaled back bring Labour into line with the Lib Dems – and public opinion, at last It’s almost three years since Nick Clegg made Trident a general election issue. He used the much-trumpeted televised leadership debates to outline a distinctive policy: no like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system.
Defending the bill that would allow for secret courts, Ken Clarke favoured bracing pub rhetoric over fusspotty legal precedent The Commons has debated the justice and security bill.
The Ministry of Defence has today signed a 15-year contract with ABL Alliance to provide support of the Trident Strategic Weapon System at the Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) Coulport and the Strategic Weapon Support Building (SWSB) Faslane, both of which are part of Her Majesty’s (HM) Naval Base Clyde.