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Controversial nuclear element in new Anglo-French defence deal

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Nov 2, IRNA -- Defence Secretary Liam Fox said that it makes “perfect sense” to develop common practices in a world of tight resources ahead of Britain signing a far-reaching defence agreement with France Tuesday.

Apart from creating a new joint Anglo-French rapid reaction force, London and Paris are to also pool their nuclear development and testing facilities as part of a series of deals but which could breach the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) cautioned the UK government on its compliance with Article One of the NPT, which expressly forbids transfers in relation to nuclear explosive devices.

“It is vital that this treaty is scrutinised in the light of Article 1. But the fundamental point that both Britain and France have to recognise and act upon is that the NPT - to which they are signatories - requires both of them to disarm,” CND chair Kate Hudson said.

“Rearranging the deckchairs on the nuclear sub is not sufficient,” Hudson told IRNA.

She said the step to co-operate on nuclear warhead testing was “previously unthinkable” but was in line with the recent recognition that nuclear weapons do not address Britain's 'top security risks'.

Britain lags behind France in nuclear research and under the 50 year agreement, the UK’s 160 'Trident' strategic nuclear missiles will be shipped to France for maintenance and repair, while the two countries will work together to simulate nuclear tests.

Such an arrangement brings into question Britain’s special relationship with the US and its dependence on Washington to have a nuclear deterrent.

“Such cooperation further breaks down the previously 'unchangeable' status quo on nuclear weapons,” Hudson said, referring also to the UK’s decision to delay replacing Trident and reduction in the number of warheads.

“None of this is surprising as it is now widely recognised that nuclear weapons are irrelevant to our security needs and, at a time of economic crisis and cuts, the majority of the UK population thinks that Trident should be scrapped,” she said.

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph today, senior members of the British security establishment, including former Chief of Defence Staff, Lord Guthrie and former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove, urged the UK and France to go further on nuclear co-operation and create a “joint deterrent”.

“In an uncertain world it remains important to have a nuclear capability. Anglo-French defence co-operation offers an obvious way forward which we cannot afford to ignore,” they said in letters to the Daily Telegraph and Le Figaro in Paris.

Under the agreements, an Anglo-French rapid reaction force will be ready for deployment next year, while British jets will in theory fly from the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle by 2020.

The French and British defence industries will also work together on longer term projects, including new missile systems, the next generation of drones and improved cyber-security.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30053557