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Blair presses ahead plans for new generation of nuclear arms

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Dec 4, IRNA
UK-Nuclear Arms
Prime Minister Tony Blair is to press ahead with plans Monday to publish plans for Britain to buy a new generation of nuclear arms despite vociferous opposition including from his party's backbench MPs.

But the plans, set out in a government white paper, will reduce the number of nuclear warheads in operation by around 20 percent when the current Trident submarine-based missile system is replaced in 2024 to placate critics, according to reported extracts.

A survey of MPs by Communicate Research published by the Independent newspaper Monday found that while 50 percent of Labor members wanted to retain a nuclear deterrent, 39 percent were opposed.

On Sunday, former defense minister Peter Kilfoyle warned the replacement of Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent was a potentially 'explosive issue' for Labor and urged Blair not to rush to a decision.

"I think it is a very inopportune moment to be replacing Trident.

I think it sends out entirely the wrong message. We don't even know the putative enemy that these things will be pointed at in the future," Kilfoyle told BBC radio.

The British premier has pledged to allow a three month debate on the controversial issue before allowing MPs to vote on the government's white paper.

Although the Liberal Democrats have also called for a delay, it is widely expected that Blair will be able to rely on support from opposition Conservative MPs, who support Britain's retaining a nuclear weapons capability in principle.

Underlining Blair's challenge, four Labor MPs Monday handed in an Alternative White Paper on replacing Trident to the Prime Minister's office, arguing that a nuclear deterrent is no longer necessary.

The alternative paper, drawn up by the veteran Campaign against Nuclear Disarmament (CND) also warned that any replacement breaches Britain's obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty to work for nuclear disarmament.

"The more that those states that already have [nuclear weapons] increase their arsenals, or insist that such weapons are essential to their national security, the more other states feel that they too must have them for their security," it said.

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